AN AMBITIOUS plan to transform Kendal Town Hall and the adjoining offices has been unveiled.

The £4.9 million scheme by South Lakeland District Council is aimed at putting the council "at the heart of the high street."

The plan envisages an overhaul of the town hall including a new reception area for both SLDC and Kendal Town Council facing onto Highgate, and also the launch of a 'Mintworks 2' hub for small business sited on the ground floor of South Lakeland House, which lies to the rear of the town hall.

SLDC leader Cllr Giles Archibald said the cost of the project had been carefully examined and a detailed report had concluded the costs would be fully repaid thanks to savings from lower maintenance costs, a more efficient building, reduced business rates and a flow of additional revenue from the renting out of the new business units.

And Cllr Jonathan Brook, SLDC deputy leader and portfolio holder for housing, people and innovation, explained that it was envisaged the project would produce savings of £450,000 over five years with the full £4.9m cost being recouped within a 25 year period.

"We want to ensure that anything we do will be cost effective for the taxpayer, makes the very best use of the building, safeguards the future of the town hall as a civic and community facility and makes life easier for our customers," he said.

The town hall plans include a widespread internal revamp to make the chambers more attractive for outside bodies to hire, but Cllr Archibald stressed that the new reception area was also central to the proposal.

He said access to the current SLDC offices at South Lakeland House via the narrow passage through Angel Yard was not only difficult to use for those with disabilities but was also treacherous in the type of inclement weather the town has experienced this week, and said the proposed new reception area would solve these issues.

Cllr Archibald added that SLDC was aware of the traditional character of the town hall and wanted to preserve this as much as possible.

"We have been working with a specialist heritage architect to ensure all these considerations are taken into account," he said.

The changes to South Lakeland House will see the ground floor utilised by the Mintworks 2 project with SLDC staff currently housed there being re-deployed on the upper floors.

The move was welcomed by MP Tim Farron, who said he hoped the new set up would replicate the tremendous success of the original Mintworks complex on Highgate.

“The Mintworks has been a real success story and with South Lakeland currently having the fastest growing economy in Cumbria, setting up a Mintworks 2 makes perfect common sense," he said.

“While other parties may carp from the sidelines about how to bring jobs and investment into the South Lakes, Lib Dem councillors are getting on with delivering on a key pledge they made before the elections back in May which is set to be a real boost for our local hard-working small businesses.”

However, SLDC Conservative group leader Cllr James Airey was sceptical of the plans and questioned whether other projects were more deserving of the large scale financing involved.

"While this may seem reasonable on paper, you’ve got to ask why the council’s leadership is planning to spend £5 million on gleaming new offices for themselves while other public-facing projects have been sat in the slow lane," he said.

“This money is supposed to be used to boost the local economy across South Lakeland, not create shiny new offices for councillors with some business development units tacked on to justify using the money for this purpose.

“It’s only a few years since our county council spent £11.5 million on new offices. Taken together, we are on course to see total spending on council offices of more than £16 million.

"Surely it's time for our local councils to take a hard look at the way they work, and the duplication of costs on council taxpayers of which these new council offices will be just the latest.”

The proposals for the project, the majority of the cost of which is set to be funded by money from the Government backed Public Works Loan Board, will go before the SLDC cabinet for approval next week, with full council approval also required at a later date.