Council receives several bids for county hall building in Hertfordshire as deadline passes

Hertfordshire County Council has received “a number of” bids for the sale of County Hall, which are now being reviewed.

A brochure showcasing the council’s flagship site, in Hertford, was published in October, with potential purchasers given just six weeks to lodge a bid.

This week, the council said that “a number” were received in advance of the December 4 deadline.

A spokesperson said: “There will now be a process to review the submissions, undertake due diligence and seek clarifications where necessary from interested parties.

“This will be required before it will be possible to identify the preferred bidder to take the site forward.”

As well as the grade II* listed County Hall building, the 25.58-acre Pegs Lane site includes modern office blocks and a multi-storey car park.

According to the sales brochure published by agent Savills, there is the “opportunity to develop a large mixed-use scheme subject to planning”.

Until 2023, when the vast majority of county council employees moved to the authority’s Stevenage campus, the site was used by thousands of staff daily.

Since then it has been mostly vacated, with attempts to find a tenant or buyer to take over the newer office buildings for employment use unsuccessful.

The council had initially intended to retain the front part of the County Hall building – which includes the council chamber – for democratic purposes. But earlier this year the decision was taken to move those functions from Hertford.

The first meeting of the full council in its new council chamber in Stevenage was held on Tuesday.