The historic county hall used by Westmorland and Furness Council as the local authority’s headquarters is set to close for its ‘current purpose’.
An inspection of the municipal building found it to be ‘physically, functionally, environmentally and economically obsolete’.
It is estimated that the hall requires £3.9m of essential maintenance and an additional £3.5m for decarbonisation.
The council will now move its HQ to Kendal's South Lakeland House and will look into alternative uses for the historic hall.
Pam Duke, the council’s director of Resources, said the decision would lead to more services for customers located in one central location.
‘The authority is in the fortunate position of having a nearby asset at South Lakeland House / Kendal Town Hall that has benefitted from circa £5m of investment to provide a modern and flexible building that puts service delivery and customer experience at the centre of its design,’ she said.
‘Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to delivering on the benefits of being a unitary council. Good asset management is about understanding our customers, identifying what they need and then using our assets effectively to deliver the right level of service whilst delivering best value for money.’
