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Councillors are set to discuss the options for the future headquarters of Wokingham Borough Council at a meeting next week.
Members of the overview and scrutiny committee will be asked to consider the findings and outcomes from the latest stage of feasibility work undertaken on the Council’s future office provision, including the financial impact.
They will be asked to agree that, having explored all options, two options – a full refurbishment of the existing Shute End offices, or a relocation to, and rebuild of, 28-38 Peach Street, Wokingham – remain the only viable options for the future headquarters.
the council-owned Peach Street property is the current home of the Forces Support charity shop,
The report for the overview and scrutiny meeting next Tuesday, January 14, noted: “In light of the continued significant budgetary pressures the council faces, the imperative to ensure that the authority is as efficient as possible in the use of its own property portfolio continues.
“In September 2023, the executive considered a report regarding its future office provision.
“The report set out the changed context for the use of its own office accommodation centred on the headquarters at Shute End and parallel satellite offices across the Borough.
“These changes had mainly come about through changes in working practices during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with an aging office stock.
“The 2023 Executive decision agreed, in principle, that the council should review its office accommodation provision, including the opportunities for the relocation of its headquarters out of the Shute End, to a more appropriately sized and more energy efficient building(s).
“Opportunities were identified and assessed and based on the feasibility work undertaken at the time, the Executive agreed that 28-38 Peach Street, Wokingham was the preferred alternative headquarters location and would be the focus of more detailed feasibility and planning work.
“Since September 2023, further feasibility and technical work has been undertaken on identified options, including further building surveys, designs and costings and specialist consultant advice regarding the IT infrastructure required for future office provision.
The report noted that the Shute End building is 35 years old, and was built with a life expectancy for the mechanical and electrical plant of 25 years.
It said the running of the Shute End offices represents a significant capital and revenue cost to the council, adding that in the 2022-23 financial year the property costs for the operation of Shute End (revenue) were circa £ 1.1 million
“More detailed building surveys of the building and its services have been undertaken in the last 12 months as part of the latest feasibility work, and this has identified significantly more failings in the building fabric that means the current building will increasingly and quickly become unfit for purpose.
“This will start to pose a risk to health and safety , and the safe operation of the building, and therefore we must start to take decisions and actions regarding any long-term investment in the building.
“The level of work required at Shute End to ensure its long-term secure and sustainable operation means that there is no “do nothing” option in considering the council’s future headquarters provision.
“Something needs to be done to secure the council a long-term sustainable future headquarters – either long-term investment in Shute End or investment in an alternative permanent location.
“In any of these scenarios, the council may face criticism for spending money on itself, but an efficient and sustainable headquarters is required for the efficient operation of the council and delivery of services.
The majority of the top two floors of the Shute End offices were closed in December 2022 as a way of mitigating the significant operational costs of the building, which reduced desk capacity from 800 to 405.
Officers have continued to monitor daily the usage of the existing Shute End offices to inform the feasibility work.
“As reported previously in September 2023, attendance levels at Shute End are not consistent throughout the week.
“The daily observed average occupation from the last 6 months is 193.
“Significant one-off events, such as Ofsted inspections and the Colleague Conference, have brought the occupation rate to a high of 294 on a handful of days.
The council’s ruling executive committee will make a final decision on the future headquarters location in early Autumn 2025.
