Asbestos to be removed from Peterborough Town Hall as council plans to rent out more office space

The authority is planning to net up to £950,000 a year from leasing more of its Sand Martin House offices at Fletton Quays having already let the second floor to the Construction Industry Training Board.

This has generated an ongoing income of £2.4 million a year.

However, plans to lease the north wing of the Town Hall in Bridge Street to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust have been pushed back due to a delayed refurbishment.

The council said: “The condition of the building has required more remedial action (e.g. asbestos removal) than had been expected. As a result of these issues the building is not expected to be available for occupation until late 2020.”

It was revealed in 2018 that the council had taken out a loan to pay for works costing more than £270,000 to make the Town Hall fit for the trust move into.

The delay of the trust moving in will cost the council £288,000 in lost rental income.

The news regarding Sand Martin House is more positive, though.

The council said its staff are basing themselves in other locations on a daily basis, freeing up a number of desks.

Should it lease out some of the office space it expects to make £475,000 in the 2020/21 financial year, rising to £950,000 in future years.

Articles relating to the budget will continue to go on the Peterborough Telegraph’s website until Monday morning.

Visit: https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics.

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