Council £2.5m office refurbishment plan scrapped

The planned refurbishment of the Fareham Parkway offices will not go ahead

Plans for a £2.5m refurbishment of an office block have been scrapped by a council.

Hampshire County Council said, following a review, the Fareham Parkway offices on Wickham Road were deemed "surplus to requirements".

The offices were purchased by the council in 2016 and have since been home to the multi-agency safeguarding hub and adult health and care teams.

The money saved will be used on other council buildings.

The refurbishment was approved in 2022, following increased use by council staff.

The project aimed to refurbish toilets and welfare facilities, replace carpets, improve thermal insulation, install a new flat roof, update the fire alarm system, and improve building access.

However, in a cabinet meeting last week, the project was removed from the capital programme as part of the council's strategy to reduce the number of buildings it uses.

This strategy was initially approved in 2024 and aims to improve the efficient use of the council's buildings.

The council said the refurbishment would not go ahead and staff and services provided would be relocated and "address the future of the building".

It confirmed that the £2.5m will be reinvested into adaptation works on other council buildings.

This council's strategy aims to adapt its buildings to optimise their use - including transforming libraries to provide more public services and creating drop-in office spaces for staff.