Council considers buying its offices to save money

The local authority currently rents its headquarters, and wants more control over future costs.

A council is looking at buying its civic offices with a view to saving money longer term.

Currently Stafford Borough Council rents its Riverside base, and the building has a lease with more than 50 years left to run.

But it is subject to reviews which could increase the rent.

Council leader Aidan Godfrey has said the authority does not want taxpayers to face unnecessary costs it would have no control over in the future.

On Thursday, the council’s cabinet considered a proposal to buy the civic centre, and agreed to recommend the purchase to the full council.

The discussion was held behind closed doors due to commercial sensitivities.

Mr Godfrey, Labour, said: “We will be looking very closely at the figures to see if purchasing this building is the right thing to do. Any decision we make will be based on investing in the future."

He added that owning the building would also allow the council to bid for investment to improve the site's energy efficiency, which in turn would reduce long-term running costs.

The four-storey civic centre was built in the 1970s, following the creation of the current borough council during the 1974 local government reorganisation.

The building, which has its own multi-storey car park, also houses other organisations including NHS services.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.