Contract agreed for ex-council HQ hotel plan

Shire Hall was home to Cambridgeshire County Council until 2021

Proposals to turn a former council headquarters into luxury visitor accommodation are a step closer after a hotel group signed a contract for its long-term lease.

Cambridge Apartment Hotels Ltd, a subsidiary of the Lamington Group, exchanged contracts on a 250-year lease for Shire Hall in Cambridge with Cambridgeshire County Council and expect to complete within the next 18 months.

The proposals will require planning permission ahead of transforming the existing offices.

Lucy Nethsingha, Liberal Democrat leader of the council, said: "It has been sad for the community to see this much-loved building standing empty, so I am pleased that we are now able to announce the next steps."

The council's headquarters relocated to the purpose-built New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald in 2021.

The authority decided to sell Shire Hall in Cambridge while protecting the public area around the site, including Castle Mound, a scheduled ancient monument.