A £6.5M PLAN has been approved to improve council accommodation in Blackburn with Darwen.

Town Hall chiefs discussed their ‘accommodation strategy’ at Thursday’s executive cabinet meeting as part of a review of office sites to reduce costs.

The plans include moving staff to the tower block building while refurbishment works take place at Blackburn Town Hall, while Darwen Town Hall will need external works including covering the roof and stonework restoration.

It is claimed in the document that the council will be reviewing their options on the tower block.

Cllr Andy Kay, executive member for the resources portfolio, said: “We have a big reduction in numbers in staff on our sites and we are trying to accommodate them on other sites.

“We are making provisions in the budget to make it all possible.

“It is very important that we do this then we can look at other buildings such as the tower block and look for other uses for it.

“We are trying to get started on things as soon as possible but it could be two or three years before they are completed.

“We are looking at workers vacating the town hall to go to the tower block, and that is estimated to be within 12 months.”

After a recent survey of staff at the sites, Blackburn Town Hall was only 59 per cent occupied with 235 staff, Darwen Town Hall is 60 per cent (31 staff), the tower block is 57 per cent occupied (293 staff) and Duke Street 83 per cent (405 staff).

Cllr Kay added it was early days in the project. He said: “There is no idea over Tower Block but we have got experience of refurbishing buildings such as the 1960s one at Duke Street where we have given a home for adult service and public health to work from.”

In the report it was claimed that all four buildings were not required, and that the occupied sites could be rationalised from four buildings into three.

The work on the town hall would increase capacity, improve service provision, reduce operational costs and eradicate backlog maintenance costs.

The report said: "The risk of not taking action at this juncture is to continue to carry considerable additional costs of the empty staff accommodation."

The schemes will be paid for from capital funding.