Empty County Hall still costing taxpayers £1m a year

Worcestershire County Council's former headquarters closed in June 2024 but still cost the authority an 'eyewatering' £1.5 million in the last financial year. Labour and Reform councillors are calling for the site to be handed over to the NHS so the crowded Worcestershire Royal Hospital can be expanded. SHUT: County Hall has been closed since 2024 (Image: Phil Wilkinson-Jones/LDRS) Ongoing charges cost the council more than £1.2m between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, a Freedom of Information request revealed. More than £137,000 was spent on security, supplying the empty building with electricity cost £219,000 and the council paid £553,000 in business rates or national non-domestic rates (NNDR). There were also £313,000 worth of one-off costs incurred during the financial year, including £245,000 for the removal, decommissioning and relocation of a data centre. 'The costs are staggering and eyewatering - the auditors and financial officer will be having sleepless nights seeing the amount of money going down the drain,' said Labour councillor Jabba Riaz. EYEWATERING: Jabba Riaz said County Hall is still costing the council a "staggering" amount of money (Image: Supplied) 'We cannot afford to sustain this level of wastage. We must do something about this ASAP. 'Credit to the Worcester News for the FoI and exposing this farce. The mind boggles that we haven't been able to negotiate a reduction or write off of some of the long list of charges whilst the RAAC issue and legionella issue is resolved and the building lies unable to be used for its purpose.' CLOSED: County Hall has been shut for two years but is still costing more than £2m a year (Image: Phil Wilkinson-Jones/LDRS) Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found at County Hall in September 2023, causing parts of the building to be closed off. Legionella bacteria was found in the building's water supply nine months later and it was shut for good. The council published a disposal notice for the Spetchley Road site on its website in August. Reform UK has submitted a motion for this week's full council meeting calling for the authority to agree to 'hospital or related NHS usage on all or part of the vacant site'. Group leader Alan Amos said finding more space for the hospital is 'critical'. His motion states: 'This council consequently instructs officers to meet with representatives from the NHS as soon as possible to establish what plans, intentions, or requests the NHS has with regard to the usage of the vacant site.' Cllr Riaz said Labour councillors have 'consistently talked about enabling the NHS to use this space as a medical facility to complement the hugely strained services at Worcestershire Royal'. 'Considering the huge pressure on Worcestershire Royal Hospital, the massive parking issues, patients waiting in trollies for beds, it's an absolute no brainer, with the road infrastructure and parking availability that it be used as an NHS facility,' he said. Adam Kent, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, corporate services and business, said: "Worcestershire County Council agreed a programme to decommission and dispose of County Hall, with the objective of reducing its ongoing operating and maintenance costs and delivering long-term savings for taxpayers. "To minimise ongoing costs, the council has relocated services from the site, enabling the buildings to be taken out of use as part of the decommissioning programme. "Key services, including the council's records, have now been relocated, and work continues to fully vacate the site. "The council continues to work at pace to complete the decommissioning of County Hall during the current financial year, which will remove the majority of the ongoing running costs associated with the building."