Cash-strapped Wolverhampton council spending £22 MILLION on civic centre revamp

The work will force the closure of the 380-space car park in Wulfruna Street for up to a year.

The revamp is part of a large-scale shake up of the council's property portfolio, which will also see 16 of its buildings close and 600 extra staff relocate to the main city centre HQ.

Three floors of the Civic Centre will be refurbished as part of the scheme, which council bosses say is essential so that the building can remain operational.

A leading councillor today described the plans as 'all about saving money' and insisted it 'was not an extravagant scheme by any means'.

It is due to be rubber-stamped next week and comes as the cash-strapped authority presses on with its battle to save £134m by 2019 and shed 800 jobs.

A report to the authority's cabinet resources panel outlines the plans, which involve ditching 16 buildings in a bid to raise £8.2m, including Mander House, Heantun House and the Beldray Building in Bilston.

The council also expects to save £2.4 million a year by not having to pay for the upkeep of its dilapidated buildings.

Mander House;

Heantun House;

Beckminster House;

Beldray Building;

Bramerton Children's Resource Centre;

Oxley Moor House;

The Maltings;

The early years and childcare services base at the Parkfields Centre;

Childcare services base at St Judes on Tettenhall Road;

The social services centre at Corner House;

Offices in Queen Street, King Street, St Georges Parade and at Bond House.

The properties will either be sold off or leased, meaning that 2,000 of the authority's staff will be stationed in just four buildings.

An extra 600 staff will move to the Civic Centre once the work is complete. It is expected to take up to two years.

Under the plans, the Urban Traffic Control centre will relocate from Heantun House to the Civic Centre in September, while a new customer services centre will be stationed on the ground floor.

A total of £716,382 has been put aside for repairs to the multi-storey car park, which features a sprinkler system so corroded 'it is becoming porous in places', according to the report. It will close for up to 12 months and is expected to lose around £100,000 in fees during the work.

Council bosses say they have gone for the 'do minimum' option, with a plan to replace the Civic Centre with a new building at an alternative location thrown out as it would have cost in excess of £50m for the new HQ alone.

The report says that failure to revamp the 37-year-old Civic Centre could have dire consequences, with the building said to be riddled with asbestos and the fire alarm system described as having 'reliability issues'.

The loss of electrical power and issues with the ventilation system are also cited as potential problems which could force the building to close. Such an outcome 'would be embarrassing to the city council and its reputation', the report says.

The repairs will extend the useful life of the Civic Centre by another 35 years.

Council bosses say they expect to save more than £500,000 a year over the long-term as a result of the 'Future Space' scheme, which is set to be completed by the end of 2017.

Councillor Andrew Johnson, cabinet member for resources, said: "Future Space is all about saving money – even after you take into account the investment needed to make it happen.

"We have gone for the do minimum option, this is not an extravagant scheme by any means and we have ruled out more expensive alternatives.

"What we're proposing is to shut down vast amounts of expensive, surplus office space which will either be sold off or rented out.

"By investing in the ageing Civic Centre we are extending the life of this building and enabling 600 relocated employees to move in.

"The scheme will pay for itself and more – generating a saving of just over half a million pounds every year.

"By staying in the heart of the city and relocating hundreds of employees here, we are demonstrating the council's commitment to the regeneration and prosperity of our centre."

The council will retain just three properties in addition to the Civic Centre by the end of 2017. They include buildings in Red Lion Street, Bond House in Bond Street and Ryefield, Pendeford.

It means there will be 15,000sq m less office space - the equivalent of two football pitches.