Council to leave 'slum' office building but will spend £420k on it first
But first the council will need to spend £420,000 to address the 'dilapidations' at Anvil Court which is the base for the council's Social Services department.
At a Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council meeting on Thursday, July 17, councillors received the proposed capital programme for the forthcoming year and up to 2030.
The capital programme allocates funding towards building and maintenance projects that are council priorities.
One of these priorities is to spend on Anvil Court which the council have leased since 2005.
The report explained that: 'In line with contractual commitments, the council will need to carry out dilapidation work currently estimated at £420,000.'
This needs to take place before the council 'surrenders' the 20-year lease on Anvil Court in December.
The report also said that £492,000 will need to be spent on 'building modifications' to the council's headquarters at the General Office in Ebbw Vale and also the VITCC Centre in Tredegar.
The VITCC has housed the Adult Social Service hub team.
The building had been for sale but was taken off market to ensure the council has enough office capacity for its staff.
Councillors unanimously agreed the proposal.
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There have been question marks surrounding Anvil Court's future for several years.
Last year councillors received a confidential report on the building's future.
Back in 2019 the building was identified in a review of council properties along with the now-demolished Civic Centre in Ebbw Vale as 'standing out' in terms of maintenance backlog that needed to be addressed.
Further questions were raised by councillors in December 2021 on the buildings ongoing suitability as a council office.
This is because it was deemed that Anvil Court would require a lot of investment if it were to come up to the condition required to help the council hit its Net Zero carbon neutral target by 2030.
In March 2022, the state of the building was slammed by residents who said that the building reminded them of 'slum,' and there were also issues with anti-social behaviour in the area.
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