Council £2.5m office refurbishment plan scrapped after officials said site is not needed
A £2.5 million refurbishment project of an office block has been scrapped after officials said the site was no longer needed.
Hampshire County Council made the decision after a review of its property usage found the Fareham Parkway offices on Wickham Road to be surplus to requirements. The offices were purchased by the council in 2016 and have since been home to the multi-agency safeguarding hub and adult health and care contact assessment and resolution team.
In 2022, a £2.5 million proposal to refurbish the site was approved, following increased use by council staff. The project aimed to refurbish toilets and welfare facilities, replace carpets, improve thermal insulation, install a new flat roof, update the fire alarm system, and improve building access.
However, in a cabinet meeting on July 8, the project was removed from the capital programme as part of the council’s strategy to reduce the number of buildings it uses.
This strategy was initially approved in 2024 and aims to improve the efficient use of the council’s buildings. The review deemed the Fareham Parkway location surplus to requirements, ceasing the refurbishment project.
A Hampshire County Council spokesperson said: “As part of this, Fareham Parkway was deemed surplus to requirements, and therefore the funding to refurbish the building is no longer required.
“Plans are now underway to relocate staff and services currently based there and to address the future of the building.”
The council has confirmed that the scrapped £2.5 million will be reinvested into adaptation works on other council buildings. Of this, £1.8 million will be reallocated immediately, while £700,000 will be held in corporate reserves to fund various asset rationalisation and disposal activities across the council’s estate.
This proposal aims to adapt retained buildings to optimise their use, including transforming libraries to provide more public services and creating drop-in office spaces for staff working with community members. For example, in the case of Lymington library, teams from adult health and care services and children’s services were moved from a “larger”, “underutilised” building.
The council spokesperson said: “Investment will, however, be required elsewhere to ensure that remaining properties in our estate continue to meet current and future requirements; a total of £2.5 million has been allocated for this.
“This includes the increased use of library buildings to provide more public-facing services and drop-in office space for staff who work with people in the community.”