BIRKENHEAD Town Hall could close as Wirral Council looks to move services over to its town hall in Wallasey and save money.
While no decision is expected to be made this week, a new report suggests councillors could decide to shut the doors at a later date.
Over the last year, Wirral Council has been looking at what to do with its town halls in Birkenhead and Wallasey.
The authority had closed Wallasey Town Hall in 2023 to save money in that year's budget, but it reopened earlier this year over security concerns and a number of incidents in Birkenhead.
Both buildings are historic listed buildings but the council has previously said "it is not a good use of resources to retain two underused town halls."
Options for the buildings presented in July included potentially selling both off.
Looking at future uses, a consultant report found Birkenhead was too small for a hotel conversion and challenging to be converted into an office but there was potential for "enhanced leisure use.”
For Wallasey, it was deemed too large to be converted but “it has opportunities around leisure uses.”
The report said: "It would be sensible and best value for money to retain only one of these assets, releasing the other to its future use and relieving the Council of the burden of maintaining an asset it does not have a need for."
During a Policy and Resources committee meeting on Wednesday (November 6), councillors were asked to continue holding meetings in Wallasey Town Hall and use it for front facing services including moving over its Registrar office from Birkenhead.
Councillors will also be asked to note the £13.2m costs to both run and improve the building’s condition.
The council will also look at what Birkenhead Town Hall could be used for in the future with a report brought back to councillors.
A report before councillors said Wallasey Town Hall was being prioritised because it’s long been the local authority's main office since 1974.
It said the building was best suited for holding council meetings though concerns have been raised previously about poor transport links to Seacombe.
The Birkenhead registrar service is also currently dealing with "collapsed ceilings" and water leaks which the council said was "not ideal for a resident facing service."
Councillors could decide to get rid of Birkenhead Town Hall in the future but the report said the building’s listed status meant its future has to be carefully considered.
However there are high costs involved in keeping Wallasey Town Hall which is a Grade II* listed building. Over 15 years, repairs could cost £12m with the council planning to bid for funding to cover these costs.
Reducing the building's carbon emissions is expected to cost a further £3.85m to replace lighting, introduce secondary glazing, and replace the old heating system. With IT and condition survey costs factored in, over £20m is expected to be needed to keep Wallasey Town Hall in use in the future over 15 years.
As for Birkenhead, the council is planning to look at potential uses for the building either by the council or third party.
By scaling back the use of Birkenhead and potentially suspending day to day operations, the report said the council could decide to shut the town hall as a future budget saving option.
Wirral Council previously decided to do this with Wallasey but reopening the town hall means this money has not been saved. £400,000 is also expected to be spent developing the plans for both town halls' future use offsetting any money from closing Birkenhead.
However, even if Birkenhead Town Hall closes, Wirral Council will still be responsible for its condition while owning it.
It is expected to need over £9.5m of works to be done on the building though this could be higher as it doesn’t include costs for prepare the building for other uses in the future.
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