Colwyn Bay....Council spent over £600k heating building that at times was only a quarter full with staff!

What a shock, they kept the local swimming pool heated throughout the lockdown and the filters going, even though it was not in use for over 12 months! 

And older buildings are usually far efficient to heat than fan heaters like Coed Pella.

Conwy’s state-of-the-art Colwyn Bay council offices cost £639,977 in energy bills over a three-year period, despite at times being only a quarter full of staff. An application under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act revealed Coed Pella was occupied by just 25% of the staff able to work from the building during August of this year.

According to the FOI application response made to a member of the public, during August 2022 an average of just 173 staff per day went to work at Coed Pella, despite the building having a capacity of around 700 – with most staff choosing to work from home. Conwy paid £211,909 in energy costs in 2019/20, compared to £226,398 in 2020/21, and £201,670 in 2021/22.

Conwy already faces a £30m shortfall next year, and the council has blamed the huge energy bill on increasing energy costs, with a spokeswoman stating: “Increasing energy costs are affecting everyone, both at home and in business.”

But most of these costs were charged before the current hyperinflation and cost-of-living crisis. Conwy moved its office into Coed Pella in 2018, paying £58m on a 40-year lease, or £1.45m a year in rent.

But after staff adopted hybrid working during the pandemic, many are still choosing to continue to spend more time working from home.

Cllr Harry Saville said the office was already under scrutiny. “Conwy County Borough Council’s offices at Coed Pella were central to the council’s Office Accommodation Strategy which aimed to reduce the number of offices owned and let by the council,” he said.

“Therefore it’s concerning to see such low occupancy figures, and you have to ask whether the council is getting good value for taxpayer’s money. Other councilors and I have challenged the council over its office occupancy figures, and I’m sure we’ll continue to do so.”

Cllr Anne McCaffrey said Conwy needed to review its situation. “There needs to be a complete overhaul of the assets that Conwy has,” she said.

“We are obviously in very difficult financial circumstances, and I would have said that for the 10 years I’ve been a councilor. This is probably the most extreme position we’ve been in with the prospect of a £30m shortfall next year, so certainly there needs to be a review of everything, in terms of what we are doing and where we are doing it, and how do we cope with the money we’ve got because obviously, the money is finite.”

A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council said the council was now conducting a review of its estate, commenting: “The council started reviewing its offices back in 2013, in an effort to streamline its estate. Under previous local government reorganization, we inherited a number of increasingly aging buildings, some in need of substantial repair.

"We also occupied a building on Dinerth Road, owned by Welsh Government. The Welsh Government indicated they wished to take back the building, which left us with 350 staff without a place of work. We were faced with high repair costs and the need to find alternative office space for the staff.

“The cost of repairing our existing buildings together with leasing additional office space would have meant paying over and above the cost of renting Coed Pella. Other options were cost-prohibitive and/or unable to cater to the number of staff who needed to be relocated.

“We lease the Coed Pella offices from the developer with an option to buy it for £1 at the end of the term.” She added: “The final Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in our offices in July this year. Since then, the number of staff working in our offices has risen steadily.

“Numbers were lower in August, due to the usual summer holiday period. However, since then, the number of staff working in our offices has continued to rise.” The council added that Welsh Government had set targets of 30% of council staff working from home or remotely in 2021.

The council spokeswoman continued: “In accordance with this aspiration, the council has introduced hybrid working where councilors and office-based staff are able to work from home and attend the office depending on need (frequency depends on job role, personal circumstances, etc). Hybrid working offers benefits to our employees, customers, and the council, including lowering our carbon footprint through reduced emissions from reduced travel."

She added: "Of course, back in 2013 when we last reviewed our office accommodation no-one could have foreseen the long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on business and working practices. As such, the cabinet has approved a new review of our office estate, and we are working on a report to present through the democratic process in 2023."

From...https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/council-spent-over-600k-heating-25689727