Former HQ accommodation plan gets go ahead

A plan to use a council's former headquarters to provide 51 flats as temporary accommodation has been approved.

Slough Borough Council used St Martin's Place as its HQ for about 12 years but it has been vacant since 2020 and it agreed to sell it in December.

Its cabinet approved a proposal to lease back the building, at the junction of Bath Road and Montem Lane, after it sells it on to a buyer that has not yet been publicly named.

The council's leader Wal Chahal said the project "has been a long time coming" and is a "positive story".

Negotiations have been ongoing between the authority and the prospective buyer about it since last year.

The council said that it was putting up 1,450 people in temporary accommodation at the end of 2025/26.

It said its rate of temporary accommodation per thousand of population is the eighth highest in the country, exacerbated by its proximity to London and high housing costs.

The leaseback agreement means that the council is responding to "one of the biggest pressures" it is facing, the council's lead member for corporation resources Ejaz Ahmed said.

A mix of 11 five-bed flats, 12 four-bed flats, and 16 three-bed flats will be offered, with one-bed and two-bed units, along with other studio flats.