Lease proposal for Plymouth's Civic Centre

Plymouth City Council is looking at an idea to sell the Civic Centre and then rent part of it back to the authority.

The council said a marketing campaign failed to find a buyer for the centre but did identify firms that might buy it and lease parts back to the council.

The authority said the building was extremely expensive to maintain and not really serving the needs of the organisation.

Councillors are to discuss the option on the 23 August.

Last year the council embarked on a long-term shake-up of its premises to save rent and running costs.

The 15-storey building opened in 1962 and had been due to be flattened by the city council in an effort to save money.

The plan was quashed after English Heritage gave the building Grade II listed status in 2007.