The West of England Combined Authority (Weca) is being turfed out of its headquarters near Bristol Temple Meads. It has launched an urgent search for a new home after the landlord of its base at 3 Rivergate got tough during discussions to extend the existing lease and told the organisation to leave by the end of the year ahead of major refurbishment work, Weca committee was told.
The announcement sparked a debate over where the combined authority should be based, with South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset councils’ leaders insisting this was a chance to make it less “Bristol-centric” by moving out of the city. Weca, which comprises the three local authorities and is led by West of England metro mayor Dan Norris, has occupied the ground floor of the property since its inception in June 2017.
An “urgent” report to Weca committee, the decision-making body consisting of Mr Norris, the two council leaders and Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, said the lease would expire on December 23. It said: “The combined authority was in discussions on extending its existing lease term but the landlord’s position has recently hardened to an exit being required at the end of this calendar year in order to undertake significant refurbishment of the building without any tenant presence.
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“This brings an increased urgency to matters and it is therefore imperative that the combined authority finds new accommodation imminently." The report said options were being considered following work with commercial property agents and that they would “balance the need for suitable accommodation with economic and organisational benefits, alongside the need to be prudent with public money”.
It said the criteria for the new HQ included an accessible location “ideally in central Bristol” because most staff lived in the city. South Gloucestershire Council leader Cllr Toby Savage told the meeting on Friday, April 8, that recognising where staff lived, ease of access and public transport routes were important considerations, so a location “on the outskirts of Bristol” could provide value for money.
He said: “Given this is public money, the criteria for value for money and the context of the current commercial property market should be widened out. There are many public sector organisations who are reducing their property estate with the embrace of virtual working and more home-working, a reduced need for desks as a result of that and the ability to co-locate with other public sector partners on potentially cheaper meterage rates.”
Cllr Savage said Weca should prioritise the “important bread-and-butter issues for our residents rather than potentially increasing the amount we pay on offices”. B&NES Council leader Cllr Kevin Guy said: “We need to make sure Weca doesn’t become too Bristol-centric.
“Central government used to use the argument that you can't move government departments outside London because that’s where everyone works and lives. It’s the same argument that Weca officers are making at the moment.
“Bath on the train is less than 10 minutes away and there are areas in South Gloucestershire that are easily commutable as well. There are many different ways of working now. There is a huge new block of offices built with Weca money in the centre of Bath right next to the train station and not all those offices have been used yet.
“So I hope the chief executives would consider that and make sure Weca doesn’t become a centre-of-Bristol organisation.” Mr Norris said: “This is an operational matter so we probably just need to get on with it, really.
“Just so you know, because I’m acutely keen on getting value for money, about 80 per cent of the West of England Combined Authority staff live in Bristol and the vast majority of those cycle or walk into work.” He said work had been taking place on accommodation options for some time but that Weca discovered only last week that it could not secure a short-term lease extension “contrary to previous discussions”.
He said costs could be met internally. The committee agreed to delegate authority to Weca’s chief executive in consultation with her unitary authority counterparts, although if they cannot agree then it will come back to a special meeting of the leaders and mayors.
