Westmorland and Furness Cabinet has agreed to the closure of County Hall in Kenda at its meeting in Alston today (4th June) alongside the closure of County Hall it agree to an officer recommendation to invest in South Lakeland House / Kendal Town Hall as its main Kendal base and close County Hall in Kendal for its ‘current purpose’, subject to a further review for any alternative future use.
This decision will see continued modernisation and investment into its central Kendal anchor building, South Lakeland House / Kendal Town Hall, to provide improved staff and customer facilities in the town.
Transferring staff and services from County Hall to a more developed base at South Lakeland House / Kendal Town Hall supports Westmorland and Furness’s core value of being a responsible authority, delivering value for money and making the most efficient use of resources.
Today’s decision comes hot on the heels of the News Penrith Town Hall will close its doors as the council relocates Penrith staff into Voreda House, its new anchor building in Penrith, which will open its doors later this month.
Today’s decision also comes after a inspections which identified that County Hall would need significant investment in the region of £7.4m to make it suitable for ‘current use’ – and this is why Cabinet has asked for a further report to look at potential alternative uses of the building for future generations.
Considerable additional works would also be required to fully comply with access legislation and the council’s own Carbon Management Strategy. The future of County Hall will be subject to a separate decision at a later date.
Pam Duke, the council’s Director of Resources (sct 151 officer), said the decision would lead to more services for customers located in one central Kendal location.
She said: “The authority is in the fortunate position of having a nearby asset at South Lakeland House / Kendal Town Hall that has benefitted from circa £5m of investment to provide a modern and flexible building that puts service delivery and customer experience at the centre of its design.
“Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to delivering on the benefits of being a unitary council. Good asset management is about understanding our customers, identifying what they need and then using our assets effectively to deliver the right level of service whilst delivering best value for money.”
County Hall is currently used as the venue for the council's full council meetings with all 65 councillors along with officers, press and public. The closure will see the council left with no venue in its buildings suitable to hold the council's meetings with all 65 councillors and require alternative venues to be used for the meetings.
County Hall is due to close in September, but June 20th meeting of the council has been cancelled despite councillors only approving the meeting date in at its annual meeting on the 9th of May.
Then select "Add to Home Screen"
