Council HQ move approved despite concerns over cost

‘Plant some trees instead,’ say Lib Dems

Bosses from Canterbury City Council have been urged to plant trees rather than go-ahead with £12m plans to build a new state-of-the-art and “carbon-neutral” headquarters.

At a heated full council meeting last Thursday, Lib Dem members criticised the local authority’s proposals to relocate its offices from Military Road to Wincheap Industrial Estate. They were calling on their colleagues to defer a decision on the move in order to investigate further the option of moving into units in Whitefriars. Blean Forest councillor Alex Ricketts accused the local authority of attempting “to pull the wool over [the] eyes” of members by saying the move to Wincheap will help it adhere to its climate emergency declaration.

“It just seems to me that the climate emergency is an opportunity to rush through the building of new offices,” he said.

“Plant some trees, for crying out loud, instead of building a new building. Stop trying to pull the wool over our eyes and pretend that this is an environmental initiative; it’s really not.” The authority says it needs to spend £1.6m over the next 10 years merely to keep the current offices watertight and usable. The Gazette understands £12m has been set aside for the project. Twenty sites were researched as potential new bases. Flattening three superstores in Simmonds Road, Wincheap - Beds 4 Us, Carpets 4 Less, and home furniture specialists Bamboo Tiger - is the most favoured option. The council-owned units would make way for “zero-carbon” and “sustainable” headquarters offering 50 parking spaces.

Speaking at last week’s meeting, Labour councillor Dave Wilson said: “These are without doubt the single-worst offices I’ve ever seen. We have a responsibility to the staff who work for us to provide them with a decent work environment.” Councillors gave the green light to the Wincheap move. Once the move has gone ahead, the current Military Road HQ would be demolished and replaced with about 170 homes. Cllr Mel Dawkins put forward a proposal to ensure 30% of the properties would be sold as affordable housing, with a further 30% used as social housing. Members agreed to produce a report on the idea.

The local authority is expecting to submit a planning application for the new offices in the first half of next year, before moving into them in early 2024.

City councillor Alex Ricketts