Former HQ homes plan's 'liability' for council

A council's plan to use its former headquarters as temporary accommodation looks set to proceed despite it representing a "significant liability" to the authority.

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 late last year.

Since then, the prospective buyer and the council have undertaken "extensive negotiations" about the authority renting the building back to provide the accommodation.

The council 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.

It moved to its current Observatory House headquarters in 2018 and declared St Martin's Place surplus to requirements in January 2023.

It said the building will be used for 51 flats, which will include 171 bedrooms in total.

The authority said its leaseback agreement for the building aims to secure "much needed" long-term high-quality accommodation.

It hopes it will also mean decreased spending in other areas, such as paying for "expensive and volatile" nightly paid rooms.

A report, set to be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Monday, said the deal represents a "significant rental and maintenance liability" for the council over the proposed lease.

The council has a statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation to residents who need it but this has added to the council's considerable financial pressures.

At the end of 2025/26, it said it was putting up 1,450 people in temporary accommodation.