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Published on Wednesday 05 February 2020

Cabinet is set to discuss creating a single Civic Centre, whilst maintaining local hubs, when the Estates and Accommodation Strategy is presented next week.

On Wednesday 12 February, cabinet members will consider a high-level accommodation review, which has evaluated all the current available options that could potentially meet the future needs of BCP Council.

The analysis work was commenced after Cabinet agreed in November last year to endorse and adopt the principle of a single Civic Centre. The analysis has considered various options, including buying another building, building a new headquarters, or recycling and refurbishing one of our current corporate sites.

Following this appraisal, the recommendation is that Bournemouth Town Hall Complex, which includes the Annexe building in St Stephen’s Road, should be fully refurbished to become the council’s Civic Centre.

The decision to recommend Bournemouth Town Hall Complex was determined by various key criteria, which included; value for money, locational factors and sustainability.

Cllr Vikki Slade, Leader of BCP Council, said: "In November last year, the Cabinet endorsed the option of a single Civic Centre and requested that a review of our current buildings and office space was carried out.

"From the results of this review, we now know that all of our three main corporate sites in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are currently running at an occupancy rate of less than 50%. This isn’t sustainable moving forward. We also know that all our corporate buildings require modernisation and updating, so that they are accessible, modern and energy efficient.

"We have a real opportunity to ensure that we have a sustainable estate moving forward. I’m clear that any future provision must complement our ambitious transformation agenda, our commitment to be carbon-neutral by 2030, whilst also serving our residents better. Adopting one single Civic Centre, whilst maintaining local Community Hubs for our residents, seems the best fit in achieving our goals."

If the recommendations are approved, Cabinet will receive an updated report in June 2020, which will set out the delivery plan and funding arrangements to deliver the Civic Centre project.

The Cabinet meeting takes place at 9.30am on 12 February at the Civic Centre, Poole. The full meeting papers, including the Estates Strategy Report are now available on the Council's website​.

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