Homes group unveils £2.5m plans to revamp Edinburgh House in Wem
More than £2.5 million will be spent upgrading former council headquarters in a Shropshire town, it has been revealed.
Officials at Meres and Mosses Housing Association have started drawing up plans to transform Edinburgh House in Wem after agreeing a deal to buy the building from Shropshire Council.
Under the terms of the deal Shropshire Council will continue to run some services from the building and staff will be on hand to discuss council tax and benefits.
No plans have yet been finalised for the building, which was the base of the former North Shropshire District Council. The housing association will move from its current base in Talbot House in Wem's High Street next year after officials described their current premises as 'inadequate'.
Paul Sutton, director of assets and development for Shropshire Housing Group, of which Meres and Mosses Housing Association is a part, said the move will be a great benefit to the company and its customers and said £2.6 million would be spent on the building as part of modernisation plans.
He said: "Completing this deal for Edinburgh House is good news. We have had great success with the multi-use model for a community building with our main offices at The Gateway, in Craven Arms, and this is an extension of that approach."
The council chamber will continue to be used for weddings and other civil ceremonies, town, parish and planning meetings and as a polling station.
Part of the building will also continue to be used as the police station.
