A Kent council’s headquarters could be turned into social housing if the authority relocates to a new multi-million-pound base.

Homes are one of the options being considered for the Civic Centre in Ashford amid plans for the borough council to move to International House – the town’s tallest building.

Discussing the future of the sprawling, multi-storey building, the authority’s leader, Noel Ovenden, said: “We would explore potential options to have social housing within that building or other housing.

“There is a nationwide shortage of housing - Ashford has a sizeable waiting list for social housing. We have a lot of affordable accommodation held up at the moment because of nutrient neutrality regulation – more than 300 caught in the system.

“At the moment we aren’t delivering enough social housing and Ashford has always been very good at that, but we need to ramp it up a bit.”

Currently, Natural England rules mean councils cannot allow developments unless builders can prove their projects are "nutrient neutral" in protected areas.

Cllr Ovenden caveated the suggestion of social housing, however, by saying offices are also on the cards.

“If somebody came forward and wanted to take it off our hands and put a massive amount of money into it to bring it back as a flagship office building somewhere, we would consider all of those options,” he explained.

This is the first time any indication has been given on what could happen to the Civic Centre.

ABC says the move out of the site in Tannery Lane is essential to save money and avoid cuts to services or possible redundancies.

The authority needs to make savings of about £3 million a year until 2026 to balance its books, and the relocation will save them about £1.3 million.

ABC’s cabinet is set to vote on the relocation to International House, next to Ashford International train station, this Thursday, after which the full council will have the final call.

‘Ashford has a sizeable waiting list for social housing...’

According to a council report, based on quotes from 2020 and adjusted for inflation, the Civic Centre needs “in the region of £10.8m” worth of work.

To make the equivalent savings without moving, the authority would have to lay off about 32 full-time staff from discretionary services such as enforcement.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Cllr Ovenden explained he wants to avoid cutting service and jobs.

He said: “The council itself has a large budget deficit, as do many councils across the country at the moment.

“As a council we have some statutory services and we have some non-statutory services, and the last thing that we want to do as a council is to cut any services of either type.”

The council leader wants to see the Civic Centre deliver something “long-term” to the area.

He explained: “From my perspective, I’m hesitant to dispose of assets unless we have an immediate use for that return somewhere else which would deliver something back long-term to the borough as a whole.”

Cllr Ovenden says the centre could be redeveloped for housing in conjunction with the neighbouring Kent Wool Growers site, which ABC recently purchased and hopes to place flats and townhouses on.

He continued: “With the two sites together, that might provide the opportunity for a more balanced development where we create a place rather than just create a block of apartments. That’s something we’re very keen on – placemaking rather than just plonking a building down.

Prior to the pandemic, ABC invested about £70,000 on improvements to the Civic Centre – its home since 1983 – but further bills for upkeep are expected in the coming years.

ABC purchased International House, which is Ashford’s tallest building, in 2014 as part of a £7.9 million deal.