Concept designs have been published, showing new civic offices for two Oxfordshire councils.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils currently share offices and staff at Milton Park but plan to move to a new sustainable joint home at Didcot.
Designs for the new home, on land owned by SODC, were approved by its cabinet at the end of September and are now available.
The site, part of the Didcot Gateway regeneration, is opposite the railway station and the civic building has been designed to reflect the town’s industrial and railway heritage.
It aims for BREEAM Excellent and will have solar panels on its roof and potentially even on covered visitor parking spaces. It will also include commercial office space for a third party occupier.
Cllr Andrea Powell, SODC cabinet member for the new building project, said: “The new building will help us make significant strides to becoming carbon neutral, and the long-term rental income from the commercial offices will also help us put the council on a strong financial footing in a time where ongoing finances for councils are filled with uncertainty.
“We’re very excited to be able to celebrate and embrace Didcot’s railway heritage with our building too.”
The current Milton Park offices have been a temporary measure since their shared head offices in Crowmarsh Gifford were burnt down in an arson attack in 2015.
New offices at Crowmarsh had been planned but the councils decided the new, smaller, Didcot option allows for a mix of home and office working and is better connected to public transport.
Separately, a masterplan for entire Didcot Gateway is being drawn up in partnership with other landowners including Homes England and Soha.
The masterplan will then be a supplementary document alongside all planning applications put forward for the site.
SODC has created a page for updates and more images at https://www.southoxon.gov.uk/south-oxfordshire-district-council/about-the-council/our-new-headquarters/
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