Demolition of council house under consideration

A council's headquarters could be demolished under options put forward to leaders.

Tamworth Borough Council's Marmion House, on Lichfield Street, was previously slated for disposal in 2021, to be marketed for residential development.

However, the project stalled and the building was left empty following the Covid-19 pandemic, until 2024, when £242,000 was spent on refurbishment and council meetings moved back to the upgraded chamber.

Now council leaders are being asked to approve soft market testing to understand market conditions and potential interest for the site, with five options put forward.

The options include retaining and reusing the building as office space, retro-fitting it for residential and retail houses, partial demolition for housing, and full demolition.

The authority's preferred option is to retro-fit the building for residential use because the project is considered low risk.

It will consider full demolition if the market report shows no demand for a retro-fit.

The decision to refurbish the building two years ago was criticised at the time because of planned local government reorganisation.

Despite attempts by opposition councillors to stop the move, it eventually went ahead.

The report to councillors, to be discussed next Monday, states: "The borough council wants to be in a position to positively react to opportunities that present themselves through local government reorganisation.

"It is important that Tamworth is prepared to make decisions quickly when required to do so. It is also important to make decisions based upon evidence. The feasibility report coupled with the soft market testing provides a firm basis upon which to start."

Tamworth Council has backed a local government shake-up that would see the county split into three unitary authorities.

Their plan would create one council for Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands, a second for Stafford, South Staffordshire and Cannock Chase, with a third for Lichfield, Tamworth and East Staffordshire.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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