The Secretary of State has decided not to list Slough Town Hall. The decision was made on 8 February 2010 and the council was informed by letter from the department for culture, media and sport.
In making his Slough decision the Secretary of State considered all the evidence from English Heritage and others.
He decided the Slough Town Hall is not of sufficient architectural or historic interest to merit listing protection under Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
The Secretary of State found that although the Town Hall is a significant civic building designed by two of the leading architects of municipal buildings of the era the building itself is not remarkable for its planning, features or technical aspects.
Ruth Bagley, chief executive of Slough Borough Council said: "It’s extremely useful to have this clarity on the future of the Town Hall. We are not about to rush into any decisions. There are several possible uses for the Town Hall site, and this ruling gives the council flexibility to make the best decision to satisfy critical community needs and still be sensitive to the history of the site."
Councillor Rob Anderson, leader of the Slough council said: "This decision ends a long period of uncertainty around the site, and gives us the flexibility to plan more effectively for the future. We have always said that as this is a strategic site in the town its future use should provide public benefit, and this remains our intention. No decisions have yet been taken as to any future use of the site or existing buildings.
Our number one priority will be to remove the 1970s addition which is dilapidated, inefficient and expensive to run. This week at Cabinet we took the decision to relocate the IT room out of the town hall to a site on the Slough Trading Estate, which not only provides more security and reliability for our IT network, but also starts the process of freeing up the buildings for future uses."
Councillor James Swindlehurst, commissioner for neighbourhoods and renewal said: "This decision confirms our view that the Town Hall is a building of local, but not major national significance.
"While planning the future of the site, we remain keen to treat the 1930s building with sensitivity, and are pleased not to be bound by expensive bureaucracy which would have accompanied the listing.
"To have to spend up to £2 million restoring original features would have been frustrating, when we would rather spend this money directly improving life for everyone in Slough. As someone with an educational background in literature and culture, I am personally keen to respect the past of this building, but our key work as lead councillors is to deliver a better future, including better quality public buildings and public space for the people of Slough."
Slough Borough Council
