THE COUNCIL offices at Penns Place could go to make way for a new way of working as a vision for the future of the authority becomes clearer.

East Hampshire District Council was an amalgamation of Petersfield and Alton urban district councils, and came into being in June 1974.

But now current leader of the council Richard Millard says the offices may be past their sell by date.

And it might be cost-effective to move out of Penns Place and into towns across the district.

He said: “The use of Penns Place was under review, and the pandemic has brought other factors into play.

“It is an old, large, expensive building to run, but the issue is far wider than that.

“Residents expect to have council services delivered in a different way, and officers work in a different way.

“They have been working from home during the pandemic, and that could continue, say three days a week.

“And perhaps we should have offices in the towns they can work in rather than coming to Penns Place.

“If we had an opportunity for offices in towns like Petersfield, Alton, Bordon and Horndean maybe, and we could support them financially, it would increase the council’s reach, accessibility and transparency.”

The Penns Place review, along with other council projects, has taken a back seat during the pandemic.

But it is hoped business as usual for the council will resume in the summer, and the review will resurface.

It is just one strand in the councils ‘Shaping our Future’ programme that will see it align ever more closely with partner authority, Havant Borough Council.

The programme will cost the council money admits Cllr Millard, but no figure has been made public yet.

It sets out how, among other transformations, the councils will share one workforce, and following council approval, all staff will transition to a single employing entity.

There was talk the ageing Penns Place offices may be replaced by housing, but that has come to nothing.