Rubber stamp for Shropshire council’s Guildhall move

Shropshire Council will move it’s headquarters to Shrewsbury town centre by the end of the year after councillors voted to push ahead with plans to leave Shirehall.

The authority says it will spend £1.2 million moving most of its staff, the council committee rooms and chamber into the Guildhall in Frankwell, but says it will save up to £600,000 per year once the move is completed.

Reconfiguration work is on-going at the Guildhall, with the building last used by University Centre Shrewsbury for teaching facilities up until they departed the site in August.

Introducing the policy at a meeting of Shropshire Council on Thursday, September 26, Housing and Assets portfolio holder Councillor Dean Carroll said moves to “accelerate” the authority’s departure from it’s ageing Shirehall were due to the high costs associated with remaining in the building.

“What we’re seeking approval for here today is not the principle of leaving Shirehall, that’s a decision that Shropshire Council have already made and re-affirmed twice more since,” he said.

“The building has indeed failed in function, in technical and in economic respects. It’s far more expensive than any comparable 21st century building would be to operate as a major office complex.

“It would require multiple tens of millions of pounds of investment to properly insulate and modernise the building as well as bring it in line with modern building and fire regulations. On top of all of that, it’s a building of a size we no longer need as an organisation.”

Staff are expected to begin moving into the Guildhall building at the start of November, with meetings and possibly full council expected to be held there before Christmas.

Facilities at Shirehall are expected to imminently be reduced to ground and first floor, with the third and fourth floors of the building already having been empty for several years now due to fire safety regulations.

Abbey councillor Mary Davies(Lib Dem) said she was pleased to hear the council’s aim was to leave a “positive legacy” on the site, but she said she had concerns about potential disruption caused by future development on the Shirehall site after hearing from residents in the area.

“I urge the council and any future developer to give careful consideration to the effect any development will have on the wider community when making decisions as to the future of this site.

“Demolishing the Shirehall should be the very last resort, ideally every option should be considered by interested parties from adapting or reusing some parts or all of the building for both residential, commercial and community purposes.

“This would not only reduce the carbon footprint, it would also ensure such an iconic building, one of the county’s most prominent modernist buildings will continue to dominate the skyline in Abbey Foregate.”