Empty former council HQ 'to cost £461k this year'

An empty former council headquarters could cost a local authority more than £450,000 this year.

Cambridgeshire County Council said the running of Shire Hall, Cambridge, was estimated to cost £461,000 in 2025/26.

The authority said the figure was mainly due to business rates, and that it was "expected to be the final year of this pressure".

A contract was signed by a hotel group in June for a long-term lease.

The council voted to leave Shire Hall in 2018 and moved to Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon, in 2021.

It decided to sell the building in early 2024 while protecting the public area around the site, including the scheduled monument of Castle Mound.

Lucy Nethsingha, Liberal Democrat leader of the council, previously told the BBC that it had "been sad for the community to see this much-loved building standing empty".

Last year, Cambridge Apartment Hotels exchanged contracts on a 250-year lease for the hall with the council, and the deal is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.

A spokesperson for the council said: "Business rates account for more than 80% of our estimated spend for Shire Hall."

Other costs include security, insurance and grounds maintenance.

The spokesperson added: "Total costs have been significantly reduced over the last five years through proactive management."

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