Council to share new office with neighbour

THE new headquarters for South Oxfordshire District Council will be built at Didcot.

The council was planning to return to the site of its old headquarters in Crowmarsh Gifford in a project costing about £18 million.

But following the coronavirus pandemic, these plans have been scaled back drastically.

The council will now share the new offices with the Vale of White Horse District Council in a move that both say will help secure a more sustainable future for them, both economically and environmentally.

The councils will move into a new building that’s proposed for the Didcot Gateway site, opposite Didcot Parkway Station, close to the centre of the town that sits on the border between the districts. They currently share a temporary at Milton Park, near Didcot.

South Oxfordshire council’s original building was destroyed by an arson attack in 2015.

In February the council revealed early designs for its new headquarters at Crowmarsh Gifford.

The new building, which would have been completed by the spring of 2022, could have accommodated 435 staff and would have been environmentally friendly with solar panels on the roof of the council chamber.

But shortly afterwards, the country went into lockdown as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, which saw nearly all both councils’ staff move to working at home full-time.

This demonstrated to both that they could operate successfully with most of their staff working remotely but they still needed some office space for certain activities and for staff unable to work from home.

The councils expect to move into their new office in spring 2023.

Councillor Sue Cooper, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Didcot Gateway is a sensible location for our new headquarters from a financial and practical point of view.

“It will make a significant difference to us financially moving from large rented accommodation to a modern, well designed office that meets our reduced requirements and becomes a valuable asset.

“As the site is centrally placed between the two districts, and close to public transport links, it will help us meet our targets for tackling the climate emergency.

“We are sad not to be returning to Crowmarsh, which was home to our council for so long, but we will work on a good future for that site. We look forward to creating a more efficient, cost-effective and carbon neutral council for the future.”

The future of the Crowmarsh Gifford site has still to be decided.

Cllr Cooper suggested having accommodation for older people or a hotel with a swimming pool that could be open to the public.

She said: “Where you’d get most money is for housing but I’m one of the members for Crowmarsh and am well aware that it has got so much new housing around it that they really don’t need or want anymore.”