Deal agreed for disposal of listed civic office building

Cash-strapped Conwy Council has chosen a preferred bidder for its Grade II listed Bodlondeb office building in Conwy.

In March it invited expressions of interest from developers and occupiers after the authority increased council tax by nearly 10% for the second year running whilst slashing £12m from frontline services, including 5.5% cuts to schools.

Members of the Finance and Resources Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet have supported awarding the lease to Cardiff based Ideas Forums Ltd who will refurbish the offices as a Business and Innovation Centre.

The civic offices occupy the former Bodlondeb Hall, built in 1876-1877 for Albert Wood whose fortune came from making anchors and cables at Saltney, Chester.

The council acquired Bodlondeb in 1936, along with its surrounding 60 acres of land.

Concerns were raised earlier this year about public access to the grounds if the council leased or sold Bodlondeb.

The local authority has confirmed that the woodland, war memorial, lawn, cricket ground, tennis courts and children’s play area are not included in the current proposal and will continue to be available for the public to use.

Sustainable

Council Leader, Cllr Charlie McCoubrey, said: “I’m delighted to confirm Ideas Forums has been chosen to take on the lease for Bodlondeb.

“We agreed that the proposal submitted by Ideas Forums offered a sustainable and exciting future for the building and provided economic development opportunities for the town of Conwy and wider area.

“I’d like thank my fellow councillors for their careful consideration of this proposal.”

Ideas Forums directors, Francesca James, Professor Dylan Jones-Evans and Nick Pritchard, said they are delighted to be given an opportunity to transform Bodlondeb into a world class business centre, “breathing new life into a historic building and transforming it into a dynamic centre for entrepreneurship to drive local and regional economic growth”.