Wokingham Borough Council’s Liberal Democrat administration has rowed back on its much-publicised decision to relocate the Council offices to the former Marks & Spencer building on Peach Street and Rose Street in Wokingham.
In the process, they have wasted time and taxpayers’ money on poor analysis used to fit what felt like a predetermined outcome without properly evaluating all options.
At the end of 2022, the Council announced they were going to close the top two floors of the authority’s offices at Shute End and rent out that space to bring in an income. Working spaces at the Council’s offices were consolidated to the ground floor and basement back in January 2023, with the second floor and most of the first floor left empty.
This saved running costs of £63,000 a year. Yet generating a rental income from the space was one of the stated aims of the Liberal Democrat-run Council.
What happened? Absolutely nothing.
In 2023, the Liberal Democrats said the Council was exploring moving to the M&S building in Wokingham. At the time, the Conservative Group warned this could cost a significant amount of money, wasn’t suitable and had insufficient parking for public access. We were also concerned the Liberal Democrat administration seemed to have pre-determined that relocating the Council’s offices there would be the right idea without properly evaluating it as an option.
Now in mid-2026, we find the Liberal Democrats have rowed back on this idea as well. In June, the administration’s Executive decided not relocating the Council will save money which can be spent on services for residents. If only someone had pointed that out at the time…
It is the same thing over and over – the Liberal Democrats jump from one idea to another, without proper consideration, only to be forced into a u-turn later down the line. From the initial announcements about Shute End and M&S, taxpayer-owned assets have been squandered, with potential income to fund residents’ services lost.
The same thing happened with the Carnival flats in Wokingham. The Liberal Democrats went through multiple contractors, and the delay saw a potential £1.4 million profit turned into a £1.3 million loss. A £2.7 million total loss for the taxpayer. My colleague Cllr Charles Margetts has repeatedly asked that lessons be learnt from these mistakes.
The M&S building is an opportunity to make money for taxpayers’ services while providing homes. At a recent Overview and Scrutiny meeting, I called for the Council to consider the option of developing the site for mixed retail and residential, with affordable housing if possible. Retaining the asset for rental income should be properly considered, as the Conservatives did successfully with the Wokingham town centre regeneration. I was pleased officers also agreed to look at selling the building with planning permission in order to maximise the value that could be returned for taxpayers.
The Council is facing cuts in funding from the Labour Government of £43 million over three years, so it’s important we get the best possible value for money from everything the Council owns. We hope the M&S building will eventually see a decent return for the Borough’s taxpayers – only time will tell.
By Cllr Pauline Jorgensen
