Supermarket plans to demolish old council offices

The Buckinghamshire Council building was formerly the home of Chiltern District Council

Plans have been submitted to demolish former council offices after the site was sold to a supermarket chain.

Lidl has lodged an application with Buckinghamshire Council to knock down King George V House, the former offices of Chiltern District Council, in Amersham.

The vacant offices, which have been described as being in disrepair, consist of a cluster of two, three and four-storey buildings, including a nuclear bunker in a basement.

Lidl has also submitted plans to build a store on the site, which would be the chain's first store in the area.

If approved, demolition work is expected to begin on 5 January and last for about 14 to 16 weeks, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, some residents are not happy about the sale of the building to Lidl, as they say they were told the brownfield site would be redeveloped for housing.

Council member Mark Roberts criticised the sale, saying: "Not only is it now not going to be housing, residents feel let down that [the property developer has] been able to make a quick profit that should have benefited the council."

But Robert Carington, the council's cabinet member for resources, said the sale was carried out correctly and represented fair value.