Slough: Council looks to relocate HQ as part of regeneration
Slough’s cabinet rubber-stamped the proposals, which are central to its five-year plan for its real-estate portfolio.
The move would also see the release of its home at St Martins Place for conversion to a mix of social and affordable rented residential accommodation that meets the requirements of its housing strategy and makes a "step change contribution to dealing with homelessness whilst offering more cost-effective solutions and avoiding the need for expensive temporary housing".
The freehold acquisition would also “enhance the financial robustness of the Council by acquiring an asset with a significant investment value, which has the potential to indirectly benefit everyone in Slough through releasing resources for improving services and/or reducing costs”.
The council has identified a proposed new office that is greater than the combined space at its offices at St Martin’s Place and Landmark Place which together offer circa 79,000 sq ft.
Slough Borough Council is planning to reduce its corporate footprint to circa 72,000 sq ft but says it will seek to lease out overhanging space to third-party organisations to reduce liability and generate an income stream.
The Council plans to reduce from an 8:10 for most staff to 5:10 for all staff desk ratios creating additional space to lease, generating additional income.
Slough council is the freeholder of St Martin’s Place which offers 61,000 sq ft of refurbished accommodation that includes circa 200 car parking spaces. To reduce operating costs, the majority of the ground floor was leased to Slough Children’s Services Trust for five years. This lease arrangement expires in 2020.
LRE Capital and development manager XLB’s speculative redeveloped 111,000 sq ft 25 Windsor Road in the town centre seems the most likely option for the council's new home but market sources suggest that Ashby Capital and U+I’s giant FutureWorks project and Landid and Brockton’s rapidly filling up Porter Building could potentially be in the mix.
Source: CoStar.