PLANS to knock down the Council Chamber on Avenue Road and replace it with a brand new community have been backed by councillors.
Malvern Hills District councillors unanimously backed the £1.4million proposals at an Executive Council meeting on Tuesday.
Final approval will be voted at a full council meeting next Tuesday (Sepotember 27).
The initial backing came after calls for community asset building The Grange to be the home for the Council’s new community hub were labelled ‘not viable’ by council leader Phil Grove.
As reported in last week’s Observer, Malvern Civic Society urged the district council to consider renovating the historic building on Grange Road rather than splashing out almost a million pound on creating a new building comprising a 105 seater room and two large meeting rooms.
The cost of building the new community centre is £950,000.
And the Civic Society said the council would save more than £300,000 if they were to use The Grange instead with refurb work costing around £630,000.
But in his September column for the Observer Coun Grove said the building, next to Malvern Theatres, was not big enough and would not fulfill the satisfaction levels which the council wish to provide for the Malvern public.
“This was one of the options we did consider but unfortunately it’s just not viable,” he said.
“The building itself is too small for our needs and would need considerable work, costing at least the same as the proposed new building but without any of the other advantages. We’re committed to finding a suitable future use for The Grange, but unfortunately it’s not right for our needs.
“Our existing proposal provides a win-win for everyone and ensures Malvern Hills District Council remains right at the heart of the district for many years to come.”
Plans also include refurbing the interior of the Council House which will cost an additional £450,000.
It also includes the leasing or selling of Brunel House in Portland Road so all of its staff are able to work at one single site – at the refurbished Council House – once work is complete,
The district council said the plans are to save much-needed funds with the authority needing to save £1.8million a year by 2018. Bosses say the changes will save them £193,000 a year and if no action was taken they would have to spend a total of £480,000 on maintenance works on sites including the Council Chamber, Council house and Brunel House.
