Isle of Wight County Hall £1.3m eco-friendly upgrade discussed

The Conservatives say there is a question mark over County Hall's future

A £1.3m bill to make a council headquarters more energy efficient has been discussed by its scrutiny committee.

Isle of Wight Council is carrying out work on its buildings as part of its goal to hit carbon net zero by 2030.

But County Hall in Newport will need air source heat pumps, LED lighting, new windows and an upgrade to its current heating system.

The authority is paying £600,000 with £701,767 coming from the government.

Previously, through the public sector decarbonisation fund, the council was awarded more than £2.5m to complete work at 10 sites on the island, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Half-empty'

Speaking at the meeting, Conservative leader Joe Robertson questioned if the County Hall investment should go ahead.

Before the 2021 local elections, when the group lost its majority, it had ambitions to build housing on brownfield land and demolish County Hall, using another council building instead.

Mr Robertson said £1.3m was a large investment in a half-empty building with a question mark over its future during the cost of living crisis.

But the ruling Alliance administration said there were no immediate plans to demolish it.

Jonathan Bacon, member for the environment, said the council needed to make it as green and functional as possible.

He said he did not know the timescale of the feasibility study or what its outcome would be.

Councillor Michael Lilley added that the authority had a legal obligation to ensure staff had adequate heating.