Keeping empty city office 'costs £132k a year'

Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on empty council offices since they were closed in 2019.

Gloucester City Council has been in the process of selling the Herbert, Kimberley and Philpotts warehouses (HKP) on the city's docks since 2023.

However the former offices, which are above Dr Foster, have been described as a "difficult site" to develop by council chiefs.

The latest yearly cost to the authority of the empty property, which is for sale for £2m, is £132,000, it has been announced.

Labour councillor Karen James asked for an update on the sale of the property at the the council's last full meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

She said the former council offices in the docks had been empty since 2019.

"In that time it has been costing the council money in maintenance costs and security," James said, asking when the building would be sold.

Council leader Jeremy Hilton said the authority was in "close negotiations" with a buyer and that they had changed their initial plans for student accommodation.

"It's a very difficult site because there are other tenants on the ground floor," he said.

Hilton added that planning officers said there was not a need for more student accommodation in Gloucester.

After the meeting, James said the council should be making best use of all its assets. She said officers had told her HKP cost the taxpayer £132,000 last year.

"Keeping a large building such as HKP empty for seven years is clearly not a sensible use of resources," she added.