More council offices are likely to be rented out to other organisations because staff are continuing to work from home.
Over the coming year, Brighton and Hove City Council plans to let out the vacant fourth floor of Bartholomew House, opposite Brighton Town Hall, and to vacate the third floor too.
An advert on the Rightmove website offered third and fourth floor offices at Barts House for £22.50 per square foot – and from £10,794 per calendar month or £129,528 a year.
Green councillor Siriol Hugh-Jones told councillors about the plans in response to a Conservative motion asking for details on how many council staff were working from home.
The Tories also asked about the potential budget benefits of downsizing and leasing out office space.
At a meeting of the full council last night (Thursday 3 February), Conservative councillor Alistair McNair said that the council had a “duty to ensure buildings represent good value for money”.
He suggested renting out spaces to businesses, charities and the civic-minded, citing Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, which spent £5 million converting its town hall into office space for rent.
Councillor McNair criticised the Greens who voted down his request for a report to spell out how many staff were working from home and building occupancy rates.
He said: “A little flexibility is welcome but why can’t staff work here (Hove Town Hall) at least three or four days a week?
“There is evidence office work is better for our mental health. There is evidence home working benefits the most highly paid staff.
“But if that is not going to happen, we have a duty to look into new ways of using our public spaces.”
Councillor Hugh-Jones said that Councillor McNair should know about the progress with “decanting council buildings” as he attended the cross-party Asset Management Board in November.
She said that the council had spent the past 12 years consolidating its office space and modernising its working practices in line with a strategy set up by the last Conservative administration (2007-11).
Since introducing the strategy, the council had reduced its office accommodation by more than 60 per cent, saving £3.4 million.
And selling King’s House, on Hove seafront, had raised £30 million in “capital receipts”.
Councillor Hugh-Jones said: “It is important to note that we need to balance face-to-face communications with residents against the resources.
“In an ideal world, we would be able to pay for copious amounts of public toilets. That’s just not the world we’re working in.”
What world is Councillor Hugh-Jones working in?
No one is asking for “copious” amounts of public toilets, but surely closing down nearly all of them is not just ridiculous, but totally unhealthy and unhygienic. Meanwhile the Greens tell us that they are creating cycle lanes everywhere to encourage health. A walk along the seafront, or in the city centre is now impossible for many people who need access to a toilet. What a farce!
I agree. “Health” cannot and should not entail encountering human waste in the streets. And it will happen, regardless of any laws.
“City of sanctuary” as long as you don’t need the loo…
Yes the council is still working from home, that is why you can’t contact the council. If you do they don’t have full access to the help you need.
This is wrong, I have heard they are employing people from London doing Homeless Prevention Work, entirely from home. Renting out Barts House when we have one if the highest numbers of homeless housed deaths in the UK is borderline criminal. They are refusing to take the proper duties and the quality of work has gotten so bad. This council risks legal action, they are our customer, we are theres, there has been no consultation with service users who are all reporting very bad feedback, never able to get hold of homeless prevention officers.
I am still waiting for Martin Reid To Reply to an email, they just don’t give a shit. on this one the administration have made a massive boo boo.
Why can we just not adopt a 4 day working week, but from offices, the high street is dying and no wonder the council staff are never in town anymore, not good at all.