THE Maidenhead Town Hall and Library were under a ‘fit for purpose’ review, the council leader confirmed – but said no firm decision has been made.

As part the Royal Borough’s asset management review and action plan that was approved by cabinet in June, councillor Andrew Johnson (Conservative: Hurley and Walthams), leader, told the Observer the town hall and library were part of that report to see if they could be ‘repurposed’ or if they have reached their life expectancy.

The management strategy looks at all of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s assets to see if it needs continued investment, to deliver its services differently or if it’s no longer fit for purpose.

This could mean offices in the town hall could be relocated or the council’s core services could be reshaped around what residents want from them.

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The asset management plans run in parallel with the council’s transformation strategy – which looks into overhauling the way the council operates and its delivery of services in response of Covid-19.

Cllr Johnson said ‘no firm plans’ or development to review the town hall and library have been made ‘beyond initial thinking’ – but hinted plans could be explored ‘significantly way into the future’ as part of the regeneration of Maidenhead.

The council leader said: “What I will say about the town hall is our office requirements have changed significantly as a result of Covid and I think it’s only right that as part of our response to that we look at literally every asset in the long-term to find out whether it’s currently fit for purpose, whether it needs to be repurposed, or, indeed, whether it can be used for something else.”

He added: “Something we need to factor in, in terms of the council’s own ability to hit our climate change targets, is that all of our buildings will have to be rigorously assessed in terms of their climate footprint and the cost of making them as energy efficient and carbon neutral as possible.

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“The town hall isn’t particularly energy efficient nor a potentially refurbishment ready building to really meet that challenge.”

The Maidenhead Library – which is a Grade II listed building – as well as other libraries in the Royal Borough are subject to the transformation agenda and the council will look into a number of avenues to deliver the service such as changing their opening times, locations, or seeing if it can be integrated into another model.

A spokesperson from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said: “The council has not decided to sell or develop Maidenhead Town Hall or Maidenhead Library.”

The town hall was used as a hospital in 1967 during the filming of Carry On Doctor starring Barbara Windsor, Sid James and Frankie Howard.

Eighteen years ago, plans to demolish and redevelop the town hall were blocked after public outcry from residents were vehemently against it.