Council bosses will be reviewing the use of their ‘new’ West Offices HQ, just eight years after moving into the £32 million building.

A slimmed-down workforce resulting from years of austerity, combined with a trend towards more working from home, means fewer council staff are expected to use the building once it reopens after the Covid pandemic.

“The onset of the Covid 19 pandemic and a forced move to remote working and remote public meetings, raises potential questions about the use of (West Offices),” says Tracey Carter, the authority’s interim ‘director of place’, in a report that will go to Executive members on November 26. “It is very unlikely that City of York Council will return to the previous level of use of desk space in West Offices.

“The future use and layout of West Offices will be reviewed as our understanding of the long term impact of COVID on working patterns grows.”

The council already shares the building with several other organisations - including the CCG, which funds GP practices, the Citizens Advice Bureau, and Network Rail.

Sharing the HQ building generates about £1million every year in ‘rent and shared running costs’, Ms Carter says - and also means the building operates as a ‘one-stop site’ for many public sector bodies. Part of the review is likely, therefore, to look at whether more of the office space can be rented out. “We will still need an office and somewhere to meet, so it will be about maximising the use of the asset,” Ms Carter told The Press.

The council moved into its new HQ in 2012. The building - York’s railway station between 1841 and 1877 - cost £32 million to covert. That was part of a £44 million process which involved moving out of 17 premises around the city (including St Leonard’s Place) and relocating to just two main sites - West Offices and Hazel Court.

The council insisted the move would save money in the long run - £23 million over 30 years - because of the high cost of renting and maintaining 17 properties. It also pointed to the benefits of bringing council departments together.

Nigel Ayre, the council’s Liberal Democrat executive member for finance and major projects, said that had been the right move in 2012. But years of austerity had seen local government get smaller, he said, so it was right the council should now review use of the building .

But the council's opposition Labour group has warned the review should not result in pressure being put on staff to work from home if they don't want to. Labour leader Cllr Danny Myers said: “The council sends regular emails to staff stressing the impact of working in isolation on people’s health, yet now looks set to make this a permanent feature."

Ms Carter's report to the Executive meeting on November 26 aims to summarise the council's entire property portfolio, and make recommendations on how it can be better managed. The portfolio includes high street shops, offices, schools and other buildings, and land. In all the council owns about 1,300 ‘assets’ worth £346million. Between them they generate an annual income for the council of about £6million.