Sale of empty civic centre halted amid cost warning

BCP Council says it has already spent £2.5m maintaining the vacant building

The sale of a town's former civic centre has been halted while a previous option to retain part of the site is revisited.

Cash-strapped BCP Council planned to sell the former Borough of Poole headquarters, which is vacant and costing £19,000 a month to maintain.

But councillors voted for a last-minute amendment that could see part of the grade II listed building kept for civic use.

Deputy leader Mike Cox said BCP had already spent £2.5m on the site and further delay could cost "another quarter of a million pounds".

Campaigners want the building to be kept for civic or community use

Poole Civic Centre has been empty since 2022, following the formation of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council in 2019.

BCP previously considered retaining a "vertical slice" of the building to accommodate the coroner's service and Poole mayoral office.

The site's disposal was due to be agreed at Tuesday's full council meeting but Poole People councillor Mark Howell tabled an amendment that soft market testing should consider both options - disposal of the whole site, and disposal of the whole site minus the vertical slice for civic use.

Cox, who is also in charge of finance, urged councillors to oppose the amendment, saying: "If we pass this motion then this won't get sold, we are going to pay another quarter of a million pounds for another year and nothing will happen.

"It's ridiculous the amount of time we have taken over this particular asset."

The amendment was passed by 35 votes to 26, with three abstentions.

The town's Labour MP, Neil Duncan-Jordan, who campaigned against the sale, said: "This decision shows that local people recognise the importance of keeping public assets in the hands of local residents."