The future of a £1.75m refurbishment in Lyndhurst is in doubt due to potential council mergers and local government changes
The idea was to make the place more appealing after the pandemic changed how people work. Many staff have been working from home or other locations, so they thought it was time to adapt. They expected to rake in about £300,000 a year from renting out office space, while also creating over 180 desk spaces for their team.
But now, it looks like the council might pull the plug on the whole refurbishment plan. They’re set to discuss this at a meeting soon. A report suggests that with the government’s devolution plans and local government shake-ups, they’re worried about whether the project can pay for itself as originally planned.
They’re recommending to take this refurbishment off the table and adjust their financial plans. There’s also a suggestion to keep £200,000 in the budget for a smaller project at Appletree Court, but details are still under wraps.
Appletree Court is pretty important for the district. It’s where a lot of core services are run, including the council chamber and the busiest information office. They’ve been looking for other places to move to for years, but nothing suitable has popped up.
A recent appraisal showed that selling or redeveloping Appletree Court wouldn’t bring in enough cash to move elsewhere. They believe that if they can create a modern workplace, it’ll help keep staff happy and engaged.
With all the changes coming from the government’s plans for local councils, the future of New Forest District Council is looking a bit shaky. They’re expecting councils to come up with proposals for these changes by March, and it seems like the new councils will be much larger, covering areas with populations of 500,000 or more.
