Oxford City Council set to move and rent out HQ in £1.3m plan

All of St Aldates Chambers is set to be rented out by Oxford City Council

A council is set to move out out of its headquarters so it can be rented to another organisation in a £1.3m plan.

Oxford City Council approved renting out two floors of St Aldates Chambers in March but will move out entirely, subject to its cabinet's agreement.

The authority needs less space because of new flexible working arrangements following the coronavirus pandemic.

Its offices will be moved over the road to Oxford Town Hall, which the council also owns.

The council said it had received an offer to lease out all of St Aldates Chambers which would result in "considerably greater financial return" than initially planned.

A council report by its head of corporate property Jane Winfield notes the Town Hall will need "significant repairs and maintenance", which could cost up to £14m over the next 30 years.

The report says Oxford Town Hall will need multi-million pound repairs over coming decades

About half of the £1m set aside for the staff move would be spent on IT work. Another £300,000 is set aside for contingency.

The authority moved its face-to-face customer services from the building to the Oxfordshire County Library in Oxford in January.

"The pressures of the last 12 years of austerity, Brexit, the pandemic, and now soaring inflation and energy costs have had serious negative effects on our finances," Ed Turner, the council's cabinet member for finance and asset management said.

"This solution will not only save the council money, but will also provide a welcome income stream to help fund our public services at a time when money is tight."

The move is set to be approved at a meeting on 14 September.