A meeting to discuss what Warwickshire County Council can do with a disused office block that is losing £265,000 per year despite standing empty is to be held in secret.

The county's Barrack Street offices – the multi-storey building that sits on top of a car park that is still used by staff and councillors – was deemed surplus to requirements in December 2020 and mothballed. 

Figures from March 2025 showed that it was still costing the county authority more than a quarter of a million pounds per year, predominantly through business rates of £217,000 per year to Warwick District Council. The rest is made up of heating, electricity and staff costs related to preventing further deterioration.

On Wednesday (March 3), the county's resources, fire and rescue overview and scrutiny committee – a panel of county councillors tasked with overseeing the work of the authority and partner organisations – will run through an "options appraisal" for the site, but only after members of the public and press have been asked to leave. 

The county's website justifies this because the information relates "to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)". 

During last year's public discussions, Cllr John Holland, who has been pushing for answers and solutions for some years, queried whether it could be leased out for pop-up events or exhibits to aid revitalisation of the town centre. 

He referred to talks held back in 2013 when it was agreed the tiring block would be demolished and redeveloped, potentially including flats, areas for start-up businesses and retail and went on to state it was "clearly wrong" that public funds were being spent on an empty building. 

The council was Conservative-run at the time – Reform UK took power through the May 2025 elections – with then-deputy leader and portfolio holder for property and finance Peter Butlin acknowledging the site had proved "a bit of a problem".

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He listed considerations including "whether to knock it down, redevelop it or make it good for other uses", adding that the council was "looking at some different car parking solutions for the site". 

Warwickshire County Council has been approached for more detail on why the appraisal is taking place behind closed doors and what consideration was given to discussing the non-financial elements in public. The Local Democracy Reporting Service is awaiting response.