Series of changes set to be made to Plymouth City Council's office spaces
They're currently looking at what the options are for its workplaces in Derriford and Notte Street
Plymouth City Council is working on a major reorganisation of its office space across the city.
It is set to move out of Windsor House at Derriford, and review the future of Midland House in Notte Street, in the city centre.
The changes were revealed in a report to the council’s performance overview and scrutiny committee.
It said the priorities were to prepare a business case for moving out of Windsor House, rather than keep and refurbish it, and identify the best method of disposal.
The options included demolition to create a cleared development site.
A review would take place for Midland House, which would be refurbished and repurposed if it was kept.
The council’s HQ at Ballard House would be used more efficiently, with a mix of partner organisations and commercial tenants, and the wider estate would be reviewed.
The report said proposals in the accommodation framework were responding to the increase in flexible and remote working, the council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan and Corporate Carbon Reduction Plan which aims to make Plymouth carbon neutral by 2030, and the purchase last year of Ballard House at Millbay.
Cllr Gareth Derrick, the lead councillor working on the framework, told the committee a flexible approach would help the council become carbon neutral by improving the energy efficiency of accommodation.
It was also responding to changes in working methods which had accelerated during the pandemic, and aimed to reduce the council’s costs and generate new income.
Councillors were told the number of council employees at September 2020 was 2,498, down by 90 compared to 12 months earlier. The number who had been off sick in the 12 months to September had fallen from the same period a year earlier, and the council’s sickness rate was below the local government average.
The number with a long-term sickness absence of more than four weeks was 196, down from 233. Short-term sickness absences of less than four weeks were 1,151 in the year to September, down from 1,333 in the previous 12 months.
Mental health was the main factor in short-term absences, covering stress, depression or psychological reasons. It also figured in the main reasons for long-term absence, alongside musculo-skeletal issues.
Councillors heard the forecast spend on agency staff by the end of the year was ÂŁ2.5million, down from ÂŁ3.8million last year.