Wokingham borough council is due to decide the future of its headquarters when its executive meets on Thursday.
As reported by Wokingham Today last week, It has been suggested that the council stays in its current offices in Shute End for the next decade.
Council leader Stephen Conway said that some former and current elected representatives have ‘waxed lyrical’ about the spacious and ‘romantic’ council chamber at Shute End, which has plenty of space for visitors and is considered to work well for democracy.
He said: “Having spent a grueling number of hours in Reading council chamber, I can assure you that ours is a good one.”
But Conservative leader Pauline Jorgensen had a different view of Shute End.
She said: “I’ve been to a licencing committee this week. It’s absolutely impossible to park.
“If you don’t get There at 8 o’clock in the morning, you can’t park.
“It’s okay for people who are here all day, but it’S not very easy for people who are coming in for an hour.”
Labour leader Rachel Burgess thought it was important that decisions about the HQ were made carefully and that future maintenance costs should be closely monitored.
She said: “Given the increasing number of staff returning to Shute End and higher levels of office attendance, retaining operations at Shute End currently appears to be the most financially sustainable option.”
Shute End requires some renewal with wiring and equipment becoming out of date, and staff recently moving back to the offices after floors 2 and 3 were closed since the pandemic.
Officer Sarah Morgan said: “As of the end of this calendar year, the Shute End offices will be full again and operational and staffed.”
She also assured the councillors that the audio visual system in the council chamber and meeting rooms would be completely replaced during August.
The decision will be taken at an executive meeting on Thursday, March 25.
