Decision due on options for future of county hall

East Sussex County Council's headquarters could be sold and redeveloped

The future of County Hall in Lewes is up in the air with several potential options being considered, including selling the site and building a new county council headquarters.

Nick Bennett, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for resources and climate change, will consider six potential options for the future of the County Hall Campus, in St Anne’s Crescent.

They range from keeping things as they are, selling the site and building a new County Hall as part of a wider, possibly residential, redevelopment.

The favoured option is a "phased partnership approach” which would see the council remain where it is until at least 2030 when it would be able to relocate to Sackville House — a office building which is owned by the authority but currently leased out.

County Hall costs £1m a year to run and needs a further £8.4m spent on it over the next decade.

Its occupancy rate was around 45% in 2019 but had fallen to 27% in the first six months of 2024.

Market value

Even if the council stays where it is, it would look at “mothballing a significant section” of County Hall and relocating teams which currently rent office space elsewhere.

Tenants may also be sought to rent empty spaces in the building.

Officers said this approach would allow the council to work with partners, such as Lewes District Council and the South Downs National Park, to develop a “wider regeneration plan” for the site.

They pointed out viability issues with a more immediate redevelopment of the site, saying there are currently no “standout options”.

The report said the cost of a suitable replacement County Hall would likely outstrip the market value of the site.

Mr Bennett is expected to consider all options on 15 October.