Council considers plans to modernise Slough Town Hall
Slough Borough Council plans to update and modernise the Town Hall as part of its strategy of continuous improvement.
A report into the future of the Town Hall will be going to both overview and scrutiny committee on March 1 and then to cabinet on March 12, where councillors will discuss Slough council’s future accommodation needs.
In a report to cabinet last November, commissioners considered options for office accommodation, to see how and where they could improve working conditions for staff, enabling them to deliver excellent services to residents.
The long term plan will be for employees who are currently based at the Slough Town Hall and Wellington House to be located together at a newly refurbished modern Town Hall, enabling better communications and team working.
Councillors are being asked to consider selling the Town Hall to a developer who will take responsibility for funding and delivering a major building and refurbishment programme. The council will then lease back the modernised building.
Andy Algar, assistant director of Slough property services, said: “This is a highly cost effective way of providing excellent facilities for our staff. It will release significant value to the council that can be reinvested in other services and will not increase overall costs.
“It will also reassure the residents who were concerned Slough might lose its Town Hall.
“This plan protects the building’s future, making it an office for twenty first century government.”
As part of the plan, Slough Borough Council will not renew its leases at Wellington House.
During the refurbishment of the Town Hall, some staff will be relocated to St Martin’s Place, opposite Montem Leisure Centre.
And it’s not just about new office accommodation. The council wants to introduce new ways of working for staff through enhanced IT and communications, continuing on its path to excellence.
The original Slough Town Hall was built in the 1930s with the new buildings added in the 1970s.
A recent survey revealed the councils would need to invest £2million over five years to maintain the building in its current state – without improvements or modernisation.
Andy Algar added: “The council is on a continuous path of improvement – we’ve been assessed as a good council with good prospects for improvement by the government and a recent survey of residents show they are more satisfied with our services than ever.
“It is obvious that to continue improvement we need better working conditions and to embrace new technology so we can deliver an excellent service to the town.”
Slough Borough Council