Councillor warns of 'significant risks' linked to £50m Hertfordshire County Hall sale

Earlier this year, the county council accepted a number of bids for the Grade II listed building and the 25.58-acre site in Hertford.

And later this month, councillors will be asked to formally identify City and Country as the preferred bidder.

The bid submitted by the company has not been made public, although previous calculations have suggested the site would be worth around £50m.

However, during a discussion about the proposed sale at the latest meeting of the council’s resources and performance cabinet panel, Cllr Fiona Thomson alluded to the “significant risks” and to the “additional costs going forward”.

The remarks followed a private part of the meeting – from which the public and press were excluded – that focused on a so-called Part II report.

That Part II report included otherwise unpublished details on the commercial and financial implications of the process, including details of the bids received.

And once the public session recommenced, Cllr Thomson told the meeting: “There are significant risks. And I think I just would like that recognised publicly, that there are risks to the council with what was included in the Part II.

“And clearly legal advice would need to be sought.

“I think we shouldn’t ignore the fact that there will be additional costs going forward. And that’s something which we are all very mindful of, considering there is no spare money in the system.

“We actually didn’t discuss that element of it…It’s just for the record to say there are still concerns about that element of the process going forward.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that some “additional costs” after the sale will be incurred due to plans for some council services to remain in the Register Office block until new accommodation can be found.

The block is currently home to Registrar services and to Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies.

And following the meeting, a spokesperson for the county council confirmed plans for the services to remain there after any sale and for the authority to pay running costs.

“The county council will continue to have use of space at County Hall for the archives and registration service until alternative accommodation can be provided,” said the spokesperson.

“And therefore the council will need to make an appropriate contribution to pay for the running costs of those areas, such as utilities for the areas that we occupy, even after the site has been sold.

“This would be the case for any site where the council uses only part of the space.”

Nevertheless, Cllr Thomson has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that her concerns extend beyond the costs that would be incurred by the council’s continued use of the building, which she describes as “a minor element”.

But she says she cannot elaborate because councillors are bound not to reveal the information contained in a so-called part II report.