Broadland: Thorpe Lodge on the market

Thorpe Lodge

Broadland District Council’s Cabinet has asked officers to push ahead with advertising the current offices in Thorpe St Andrew for sale.

This follows the full council decision to buy the Horizon Centre as the council’s new home.

Planning policy requires that the building is marketed for at least 12 months to see if there is any commercial interest in the site before any other options can be considered.

The building is an asset that belongs to the tax-payers in Broadland and the Council will do all it can to ensure that it gets the best value for residents and maximise the return it can generate from the site.

That return is not just a financial consideration, the Council also has to take into the account community value and how it can improve the quality of life of residents.

Broadland District Council Leader, Cllr Shaun Vincent said:

“This is a really exciting time for the Council and the move to the Horizon Centre will save taxpayers millions of pounds over the coming years. It’s forward-looking decisions like these that ensure we can continue to deliver the high standard of services that our residents really value and allow us to keep Council Tax low in our district.

“Our move to the Horizon Centre will deliver many benefits to our residents. Not just the huge financial savings in both capital and revenue expenditure, but we will also dramatically decrease our carbon footprint by 84%, increase efficiency and performance and be much more accessible for the majority of both staff and residents.”

The Horizon Centre is only two miles from Thorpe Lodge, easily accessible by public transport and has plenty of parking. The building has much lower running costs and the extensive solar panels will help to offset energy price hikes. It also boasts electric charging points, making it much easier for staff and visitors to use electric vehicles.

The move to the Horizon Building will go a long way towards meeting the Council's aim of becoming carbon neutral before the government's target date of 2050.

Published: 20 July 2022