Durham County Council's new £50m HQ sold to university

The vacant headquarters, known as The Sands, has been sold to Durham University to be used as its business school

A purpose-built, new and unused £50m council headquarters is to be sold off.

Durham County Council's cabinet agreed the sale to Durham University alongside proposals to build another new "modest-sized civic building".

With the existing County Hall earmarked for demolition and after a change in political leadership, the authority opted to sell the vacant construction.

Deputy council leader Richard Bell praised the decision as "a good deal on anybody's money".

The joint administration, run by Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Independents, wants to construct a new headquarters and conference centre at Aykley Heads, near the current headquarters, and use two other buildings.

The authority will occupy council-owned offices already under construction at Aykley Heads and refurbish a run-down Grade II listed building in Stanley, which it has been unable to sell.

It says the plan will save taxpayers money, meet post-Covid needs, attract jobs, kick-start investment, income and regeneration, and fund levelling up with the sale profits.

The current Conservative and Liberal Democrat administration wants to construct a new headquarters at Aykley Heads, near the current HQ

But Labour, which commissioned newly built HQ in 2019 before losing control of the council, derided the sale as "a complete waste of everyone's time and money".

At a special cabinet meeting, Mr Bell, Conservative deputy council leader and cabinet member for finance, said the new civic and conference centre would kick-start the Aykley Heads development.

"This is good deal on anybody's money and is further proof of cabinet's bold and ambitious vision for the future," he said.

"This will provide significant flexibility for the council's office accommodation, as well as broader regeneration opportunities and increased use of existing assets.

"While I cannot say how big a surplus this option will generate, I can assure the public that after the sale has been completed and the new accommodation has been built, the council will be significantly better off than if we move into the Sands."

He claimed the proposals would safeguard and create up to 780 jobs and boost Durham University Business School's global reputation.

The unused building next to the River Wear on the Sands was commissioned by the previous Labour administration

Mark Wilkes, Lib Dem cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said: "This is an exemplary plan.

"Residents made it very clear to us they didn't want the Sands building. Post-Covid, we don't need as big a building. Post-Covid, we need a building that's far more flexible."

Labour's group leader councillor Carl Marshall has said the plans were "an obscene waste of time, money, effort and… a mistake that will be felt for generations".

He added: "This council has a purpose-built, made-to-measure HQ built and ready to move into - to even think about building a third or fourth HQ is farcical."

A planning application to change the Sands building's use for the university is expected to be considered in July.