Controversial plans to relocate the district council's customer service centre to the Pump Rooms shop in Leamington Spa will be considered by councillors next week.

Warwick District Council's (WDC) cabinet will discuss the potential £410,000 budget and designs for the project on Wednesday, July 5.

Cabinet will also consider the recommendation to look at an alternative venue or approach for the existing Pump Rooms shop.

The meeting will follow on from the previous Conservative administration's plans to move services currently operated at Riverside House.

In September 2022, cabinet approved the recommendation for WDC to vacate its Riverside House premises as part of a two-step plan to make "considerable savings for taxpayers" on its running costs.

This meant an alternative venue for customers services needed to be found.

But some 1,100 residents signed a petition against using the Pump Rooms shop as the new customer service centre earlier this year.

"The Pump Room is not the right place for the public face of WDC Housing Department and the Homelessness Officer and 'temporary' solutions may become permanent," the Hands of our Pump Rooms petition said.

WDC said feedback from residents and groups has informed the latest recommendations for cabinet to consider.

Riverside House has been a council office block since 2000.

WDC said the office normally has around 50 staff using it most days, but it can host up to 350.

"However, even at its pre-pandemic peak, it was evident that Riverside House was far larger than the council needed," a cabinet report said.

"This led to a proposal to relocate the Council's offices to new, purpose-built facilities at Covent Garden.

"This proposal was however discontinued in 2019 and the Council remained at Riverside House."

See the full report here.

(Image by David Dixon via geograph.org)