A senior councillor has finally shed light on Warwickshire County Council's plan to deal with disused offices costing £265,000 per year but warned: "We are not doing it any time soon."

The council has held two secret briefings on the future of its mothballed office block on Barrack Street, Warwick, in recent months, hiding the options appraisal from the public in order to avoid "unnecessary concern or speculation". 

The future of the building has been a bone of contention for years, particularly since it was deemed surplus to requirements in December 2020 with figures showing that business rates, maintenance and the cost of energy to prevent further deterioration were totalling more than a quarter of a million pounds per year.

One complication is that the car park underneath the offices is still used by council staff and visitors with its position at the roadside and near old buildings making demolition difficult. 

Past ideas have included a mix of residential and retail development but deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance and property Cllr Stephen Shaw revealed this week that such options were "not financially viable".

He revealed that the frontrunner was a plan to build a multi-storey car park but explained that it was "more of an LGR (local government reorganisation) thing", suggesting any movement would not happen until after the restructure of Warwickshire's top-tier councils kicks in from April 2028.  

He was fielding a query from Labour group leader Cllr Sarah Feeney on whether there would be a strategy for disposing of empty and unused buildings, "particularly with reference to Barrack Street".

Cllr Shaw, who is to stand down as deputy leader in May but still plans to oversee finance and property, said he had been working with officers on the property strategy, "especially unused buildings". 

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Addressing Barrack Street, he continued: "It is more of an LGR situation. 

"It is not a disused building because it is being used for a car park, people have to park somewhere.

"Our main aim for Barrack Street is to build a multi-storey car park, depending on what the district (Warwick District Council) says.

"I know John (local member Cllr John Holland) has been saying we can build houses there, flats or apartments. It has been going on for years, he says since 2008, and it is not financially viable.

"The most financially viable thing to do, and also to bring people into the town centre, is build a multi-storey car park but we are not doing it any time soon, especially with the financial pressures we are going to be under. It is more of an LGR thing and he knows that."

Leader Cllr George Finch cut in at the end, adding: "We are looking at multiple options for Barrack Street car park. As Councillor Shaw says, this is a long time coming but there are multiple options we are looking at as a council."