Council agrees sale of Edinburgh House, Wem to Shropshire Housing Group

Shropshire Council has agreed to sell its Edinburgh House HQ in Wem to Shropshire Housing Group (SHG).

At their meeting on Wednesday 13 March 2013, the council’s Cabinet agreed to sell the building to SHG, and lease part of the building for use by the council.

Edinburgh House is not currently fully occupied and the sale will enable the council to raise much-needed capital, while making significant savings in day-to-day running costs.

The sale will provide SHG with new office premises for the Meres and Mosses Housing Association (MMHA), and provide its customers with access to its housing service within Wem, while saving the organisation money by not having to build new premises.

Under the plans, from spring 2014 MMHA will use Edinburgh House for delivering its housing services, with Shropshire Council remaining as a tenant in part of the building and continuing to provide council services from the building.

A Shropshire Council customer service point will remain at Edinburgh House to enable local people to access council services, including revenues, benefits and housing options – and a small number of council staff will continue to be based there.

The council chamber and ante room will continue to be used for wedding and other civil ceremonies, for town and parish council meetings, for meetings of Shropshire Council’s planning committee, for the Coroner, and as a polling station.

West Mercia Police will also continue to use the building as the police station for Wem.

Tim Smith, Shropshire Council’s north area commissioner, said:

“With Edinburgh House currently only partially occupied, the sale of the building provides an opportunity for the council to raise much-needed capital, and make much-needed savings. However, and very importantly, it will continue to be a multi-use building. People living in and around Wem will be able to continue to access key council services in the town, and the building will remain open for use by the local community, and the town and parish councils.

“The increase in occupancy of the building will also ensure that a larger number of people use local shops and services, providing a welcome boost to the local economy.”

Paul Sutton, Executive Director of Assets and Development with Shropshire Housing Group, said:

“The acquisition of the existing building in Wem will allow Shropshire Housing Group to continue to develop an approach to multi-use buildings in our important market towns. Edinburgh House will be developed with the same principles as the Gateway in Craven Arms.

“We will invest significant funds into refurbishing the building, bringing it up to modern day standards for office accommodation, whilst enhancing the customer experience from a multi-functional reception service.  This opportunity is very exciting and continues to maintain and create employment opportunities in Wem.”