Call for 'wonderful' civic offices to be saved

The neo-Georgian council office was opened in 1932

Local politicians have called for the sale of a 'wonderful' council office site to be halted.

The Buckinghamshire Council site in High Wycombe has four separate buildings, including a neo-Georgian structure built in 1932.

A Conservative councillor said she was "exceptionally disappointed that this wonderful building is being sold".

The council said the site was "currently underused" and offered a "prime location".

The 1932 building in Queen Victoria Road was designed by Richard Greaves Brocklehurst and Charles Cowles-Voysey in the neo-Georgian style.

The Royal Institute of British Architects awarded a bronze medal for the design.

On Tuesday, the Conservative-controlled council's cabinet will decide whether the sale of the site should go ahead with the most likely outcome being a residential development.

A drawing of a possible design for the land shows about 180 flats across three buildings of up to seven storeys.

The listed front facade of the 1932 building would be retained and converted but the rest of the site would be cleared.

Councillor Lesley Clarke said the sale plan was "disappointing in the extreme"

Lesley Clarke OBE, a conservative councillor, said: "I am exceptionally disappointed that this wonderful building is being sold and that the Council Offices are moving.

"It is a beautiful building and has a lot of history…. disappointing in the extreme."

Independent councillor Trevor Snaith called for an immediate halt to the sale process and a full and open public consultation.

He said the council was being "arrogant, short-sighted and undemocratic" as there had been "no transparent discussion about the future of the historic frontage or its role in mayoralty, civic occasions, and local democracy".

The site includes Albert House, a 1980s office block

An independent colleague of Snaith, Khalil Ahmed, said: "This is not just bricks and mortar; it's part of the town's identity.

"With imagination, the building could serve countless community purposes, but instead, the easy option is chosen: sell it off."

A council spokesperson said the potential sale was part of "ambitious regeneration plans for the town that the council is driving forward".

The spokesperson added the site was currently underused and offered a prime location and "huge opportunity" to attract further investment.

The council said the cabinet had decided last year to relocate the council offices and sell the site, and information about the plan "has been in the public domain throughout this process".