Slough Borough Council to leave £39m HQ four years after moving in

Slough Borough Council paid £39m for Observatory House in 2018

A debt-ridden council is planning to move workers out of the headquarters it bought for £39m four years ago.

Slough Borough Council purchased the six-storey Observatory House in 2018.

It had hoped to rent out some of the building to businesses but there was a lack of interest, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Council leader James Swindlehurst said the authority would use other space it owns to accommodate staff. A timetable for the move has not been confirmed.

Mr Swindlehurst, who represents Labour, confirmed to a cabinet meeting a strategy was being drawn up to leave the building in Windsor Road.

'Flexible working'

However, he ruled out a move back to the council's previous base that could, alongside its current HQ, be offloaded as part of a £600m sell-off of its assets.

Community centres and libraries could instead be used by staff.

"The whole point post-Covid is that people have more flexible working arrangements, and we believe our desk requirement is significantly less," Mr Swindlehurst added.

The council has been constrained since issuing a section 114 notice last year. This is considered the local authority equivalent of bankruptcy and means it could only spend on services deemed essential.

Plans have previously been outlined to sell property including a leisure centre, cinema, DIY store, supermarket and warehouse to raise funds.