Bristol City Council purchases £18m offices

Bristol City Council have invested £18m in a new city centre headquarters as part of a string of cost cutting initiatives, council representatives announced earlier today.

The local authority plans to move its staff into smaller offices, enabling it to use less space and save money; as government spending cuts bite into the council’s budget.

The acquisition of the office complex at 100 Temple Street has been hailed as a landmark manoeuvre by the council, as they aim to reduce their spatial footprint by 40%; equating to a financial saving of around £40m over the next 25 years.

The council’s current premises will be sold when they move early next year into the new offices in the city centre, which offer convenient access to Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

City Council Mayor, George Ferguson said the move made complete sense for the authority, to help reduce the size of their expenditure across the city in times of financial austerity.

Mr Ferguson said: "The recession makes this a good time to make this purchase and it represents a good deal for the taxpayer.”

Bristol council have already released plans for strategic staff relocation to the Temple Street building, as well as the recently refurbished City Hall - both situated next to both Temple Meads station and the planned Metrobus interchange.