Review to consider future of listed Civic Centre

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter

The future of Newport’s Civic Centre could be decided in a new review of the city council’s office buildings.

Cabinet members have agreed to spend £250,000 on a new strategy for its various offices – including its headquarters.

The Civic Centre is a listed building containing the council chamber and is the base for many of the local authority’s administrative functions, but in recent years has faced an uncertain future.

It is currently closed on Fridays for cost-cutting purposes.

A relocation plan was previously considered and then shelved by decision-makers, and the council said in mid-2025 it had “no plans to” move its headquarters to another location.

Some critics have argued the Civic Centre is underused, however.

Freedom of Information Act disclosures last year showed its running costs reached £1.05 million in 2024, and there were typically between 200 and 350 staff working daily at a building which contains around 380 “office rooms”.

At the time, Cllr David Fouweather, a Conservative, said a move could save the council money, and by encouraging more people to return to the office would provide a “better service” than working from home.

Independent councillor Mark Howells said last year staff should return to the office to improve customer service levels.

However, the council has defended its home-working policies as having “clear benefits to it around recruitment and retention, congestion and climate change”.

The £250,000 office strategy will be funded using the council’s reserves, cabinet members decided on Monday May 18.

They also approved a £750,000 purchase of a property to serve as an additional children’s home, as well as the use of reserves to fund £631,000 of work “on developing a clearer understanding of the key drivers of demand and cost within adult social care”, and £40,000 for a review of the council’s fees and charges.