Conwy council considers selling underused Bodlondeb headquarters

Councillors are considering selling off Conwy's Bodlondeb headquarters

A council is considering selling its Grade-II listed headquarters as only a quarter of staff are using it at any one time.

Councillors were told of 219 desks available at Conwy's Bodlondeb building, the average number of staff using them was 57.

A 2023 staff survey also revealed only 176 of 520 available desks were used by staff at its £58m Coed Pella offices.

The numbers were disclosed at a finance and resources meeting on Monday.

Earlier this month councillor Penny Andow insisted it was a myth the Coed Pella building, in Colwyn Bay, was lying empty.

When Coed Pella opened in 2018, the council closed its Colwyn Bay civic centre offices and moved staff into the new building, along with staff from offices at Rhos-on-Sea and Mochdre.

But, the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed, when Covid hit most staff began working from home.

• Council's new HQ will cost taxpayers £1.5m a year

• Conwy councillor denies voting on Zoom while driving

• Authority tracks people's phones to monitor footfall

After updating councillors with the figures, councillor Andrew Wood said Conwy must now look at potentially getting rid of of Bodlondeb.

"We need to look at the democratic process of disposing of, possibly, a building we all love but maybe is costing us half-a-million pounds a year," he said.

Only a minority of desks at Bodlondeb and the council's Coed Pella offices are being used at any one time

Councillor Paul Luckock then said the council needed to act and close Bodlondeb as quickly as possible.

"Our residents are way ahead of us on this, way ahead of officers and councillors in wanting to get these buildings shut and staff in Coed Pella," he said.

"I was in Coed Pella on Friday, and there was hardly anyone in there. That is the reality."

Councillor Sian Grady said the authority needed to think carefully before shutting Bodlondeb.

She said: "It can't be a knee-jerk reaction. It has to be looked at over a long space of time. It can't be decided in the short term."

A report on the council's assets will come before the scrutiny committee on May 22.