THE future of one of South Gloucestershire Council’s main offices looks more secure after a group came forward to rent it.

Kingswood Civic Centre was set to be closed following a review of the council’s accommodation portfolio, as the authority tries to save £425,000 from its corporate property budget, with the loss of facilities for the local community.

But an unnamed organisation has now expressed a strong interest in renting the building which would keep the council chamber open and leave training rooms and a One Stop Shop on site.

Under the proposed deal, 230 staff would still transfer to the council’s flagship Badminton Road office in Yate and there are plans to build an extension so meetings can be held there. Currently 950 staff work at the £32million building but there are only 312 dedicated parking spaces and concerns have been raised over where employees will park.

Cllr Ruth Davis (Lib Dem, Yate) said: “We want to ensure there are not more parking problems.

“There will be definitely a bit more traffic but we are more concerned about the parking.”

Council lead Cllr Matthew Riddle (Con, Severn) said of the move: “We recognise that the civic centre is a source of great local pride for the people of Kingswood. However, we also strongly believe that we shouldn’t be wasting public money on surplus office space whilst having to make savings elsewhere.

“As such, with some innovative thinking I am pleased to say that we have found a way to save over £400,000 a year, without affecting frontline services. The money we save with this creative proposal will now help us maintain our frontline services in a challenging financial environment.”

Labour said it was worried that if a lease was not finalised by the end of October, the council would market the building for lease or sale on the open market.

Cllr Adam Monk (Lab, Filton) said: “Labour councillors have consistently opposed the proposed closure of Kingswood Civic Centre and have outlined clear reasons why we think this would be a terrible decision.

“The option of disposing of the civic centre on the open market should not be on the table. Local residents remain shocked that the council is even considering disposing of the building when it spent £6million refurbishing it as recently as 2013.”

A report on the consultation will be put to councillors at a meeting on Monday (June 27).

In it, the council said: “As a result of the consultation, various partner organisations have approached the council enquiring about the potential to lease space in Kingswood Civic Centre.

“One public sector organisation in particular has come forward with a strong interest in leasing a large part of the building on a long lease. With no commitment on either side, initial discussions have taken place and outline feasibility studies have been undertaken to develop this potential option further.

“A second smaller areas as indicated above could be available for a second tenant.”