Council prepares to move to impressive £11m HQ

Council prepares to move to impressive £11m HQ

5 September 2012

DOWN Council will move to its new headquarters at the Downshire estate at the end of the month.

The new multi-million pound development will open for business at noon on October 1 when the Housing Executive will also have relocated to the Downshire from its current John Street base.

The new Downe Hospital has already opened at the Downshire site where the PSNI is to build a new district command headquarters. Local politicians also hope that money can be found to build a new joint fire and ambulance base at the Ardglass Road complex.

Once the local authority relocates from its current Strangford Road base, the expansive site will be sold. It is also anticipated that all buildings, apart from the garage depot at the rear of the main administration complex, will be bulldozed.

The proceeds from the sale of the Strangford Road site will be used to offset the cost of the new base at the Downshire, but the value of the current headquarters is nowhere near what was projected when the move to the Ardglass Road was initially proposed.

Councillors have examined a number of possible uses for the existing site in a bid to realise its full development potential. They include a new hotel, foodstore, leisure centre or residential development. Both the Planning and Roads Services believe residential development to be the most viable option for the site.

One of the key issues the council has to address before it relocates to the Downshire is the impact an entrance road to Down High School’s proposed new school at the rear of the council site will have on its sale value.

School officials want to construct the entrance road to the left of the main building, with its path going through the middle of the current Building Control Department.

Councillor Colin McGrath, chairman of the project board delivering the new council headquarters, has welcomed plans to ensure the Strangford Road site will be left secure and not become a blot on the local landscape.

“The new council facility will be operational in the coming weeks and with the move to the Downshire site I am aware that a number of residents will be concerned about the exiting Strangford Road base,” he said.

“With recent examples such as the former Downe Hospital site I fully understand that residents will be concerned and worried about what will become of their area.”

Councillor McGrath said Down Council will continue to use the Strangford Road site as its fleet of vehicles will remain there.

He said as the council debates what it will do with the former admin base, planning permission will be granted shortly for a fence to be erected around the complex, “keeping it safe from vandals and ensuring the area is presentable for nearby residents.”

Councillor McGrath added: “The council does need to decide what the future of the Strangford Road site will be. In the short and medium term, every effort will be made to ensure that the building does not become an eyesore and a den for anti-social behaviour.”