ANDOVER town council could be set to move to a new office space in the coming months as councillors consider options for a new HQ.

The current town council offices, situated in Black Swan Yard and overlooking the High Street, are not being used by staff full time, since they moved to working from home during the pandemic.

The lease on the office expires in September 2022, but members are running out of time to make a decision on whether to renew, as a six-month notice must be given.

At a meeting of the council’s policy and resources committee on Tuesday, January 18, members were presented with two alternative office options – one a serviced town centre office, and the other situated on Portway Industrial Estate.

Council documents show that, when fully operational, the current office costs a total of approximately £42,843.60 to run – including everything from rent and bills, to photocopying, postage, maintenance and waste removal.

Moving to an alternative option could cut this figure by at least a half, officers predict.

Indicative costings for a town centre serviced office stand at £21,572.16 per year, while an out-of-town location could come to around £15,788.16.

Committee members discussed the options, with most seemingly in favour of sticking to the town centre.

Cllr Nigel Long said: “The office we have now is not fit for purpose, but personally I do like the office open and think it’s silly to move out of the town centre.”

Cllr Luigi Gregori added: “We need to look at the disaster that the borough council has by moving to Beach Hurst. So, mMy view is if we are going for one we should take the additional expense and keep something in the town centre.”

“The current offices are not fit for purpose but, when we go to full council, we need to put all three options to them.”

Cllr Michael Mumford said: “I think we are a town council, not an industrial estate council!”

However, Cllr Stu Waue said Portway should not be ruled out, adding: “As a personal preference in terms of accessibility, I would prefer town centre. But we are talking about £6,000 a year so that a handful of people can attend council meetings easily.

“If you ask everyone in the town what they prefers, a council office that they could get to easily or £6,000 off the budget, they will choose £6,000 off the budget.

“Knowing what the out-of-town office option is, it’s not that far out of town. I wouldn’t write that off.”

The committee unanimously agreed to send both options, as well as the third option of remaining where they are, to be discussed at full council on Tuesday, January 25.