Serious questions are being raised about the future of Gateshead Civic Centre as occupancy dwindles and running costs spiral to £1.4m a year.
A report released by the local authority has revealed the Civic Centre, on Regent Street, may well require extensive work over the next 10 to 20 years including renovating rooms, windows, toilets, and kitchen areas. In addition, occupancy has "plummeted" as more and more people take to working from home.
Monitoring conducted by the council over a 27-week period discovered a maximum of 480 desks out of the council's 2,250 available were used at any given time, meaning just under 80% are unused.
