County council offices in Hemel, Hertford and Stevenage could close for Christmas to save £10,000

Council bosses say the pandemic has shown that working from home is possible
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Hertfordshire County Council offices in Hertford, Hemel Hempstead and Stevenage could remain closed between Christmas and New Year, as part of a bid to save up to £10,000 a year.

Currently the County Hall, in Hertford, offices in Apsley,in Hemel Hempstead, and the Farnham House and Robertson House buildings, in Stevenage, are closed for a couple of days over the festive period.

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But council bosses say that the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that working from home is possible.

County Hall (C) Google MapsCounty Hall (C) Google Maps
County Hall (C) Google Maps

They have estimated that closing the buildings between December 21, and January 3, would save around £10,000 – including heating, ventilation and heating and utility costs.

And the proposal is contained in budget documents that were published in advance of the county council’s cabinet meeting on Monday, January 18.

“Within this period foot fall as well as operations throughout these sites decreases,” says the report.

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“The current Covid era has established that it is actually possible to work considerably from home, which directly supports the Corporate directive of how the Council business will be managed.

“The study was based on the cost of running HVAC, boiler, utilities and other.”

Meanwhile the document also proposes a review of current security patrols of vacant council-owned properties.

It suggests that as part of that review existing patrols – including guards and dogs – could be replaced by CCTV or remote monitoring arrangements, at a saving of around £50,000 a year.