The council moved into West Offices in 2012. The building - which was York’s railway station between 1841 and 1877 - cost £32 million to convert.

That was part of a larger £44 million process which involved the council 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 at the time that 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.

The authority employs a total of 2,121 full time-equivalent staff today, not including school staff - though it stresses many of these work in the community and are not office-based.

It admits that it has been experiencing 'experiencing recruitment challenges across a range of roles and services' due to a range of different factors.

"This mirrors the national position," a spokesperson said.