THE creation of a single BCP Council headquarters in Bournemouth is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.

As part of the merger of the area's three now-abolished councils, plans are being progressed to sell off the civic offices in Poole and Christchurch in favour of being based solely at Bournemouth Town Hall.

A report published ahead of the first meeting of the council's new Conservative administration cabinet says work to set up the “BCP Civic Centre” is expected to be completed by October 2021.

Under plans drawn up to consolidate the services of the former councils, it had been proposed to sell the civic centre in Poole and civic offices in Christchurch to help fund a revamp of Bournemouth Town Hall at a cost of up to £29 million.

But pressure on the council’s finances caused by its response to the coronavirus pandemic as well as concerns the move it would lead to a “fire sale” of its assets to afford the project forced ambitions to be scaled back.

Instead, a budget of £6.6 million – most of which will be borrowed – for works on the town hall is set to be approved by cabinet members.

The sites in Poole and Christchurch would then be sold at a later date to "allow for more timely analysis of what will represent best value” for disposing of the buildings.

“In line with the project’s focus on pragmatism and financial prudency, the office refurbishment costs are limited to those works that are either essential in order to optimise the use of the available space for a much larger workforce, or are necessary in order to establish a modern and suitable workplace,” it says.

“Whilst a balance between cost and quality must always be struck it is considered that the approach being adopted is proportionate and represents value for money for the council.”

It says the need to have more staff working from home in recent months had shown its employees were willing to work outside of an office.

Customer service centres will be set up in each town's main library so they can still be accessed across the conurbation.

At the November 11 cabinet meeting, councillors will be asked to approve the budget for the refurbishment of Bournemouth Town Hall.