What Next for Cheltenham Municipal Offices?

There’s quite a lot of excitement in Cheltenham over the future for the town’s landmark Municipal Offices as its sale closed last month. Cheltenham Borough Council put the Grade II listed building up for sale in September 2024 and it had several bidders.

Decision coming in the next few weeks

The decision on the winning bid for the 68,290 sq ft building will be coming in the next few weeks. Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) had occupied the Promenade building for more than a century and so CBC execs want a buyer that will recognise its heritage and purpose while also making food use of it in the future.

Applications being assessed

LibDem council leader Rowena Hay (for Oakley) said that the sale is now closed and all of the bids are under consideration. Hay added she didn’t know who the bidders were, but said that the old council building deserves to come back to life.

Recent years have seen the building half empty and no longer right for the council’s needs, so it’s a good thing that lots of bidders have come forward to offer a new era for the offices.

Lots of interest

Hay said that CBC had extended the closing date for applications due to the amount of interest and that the winning application might not be solely about the financial offering. The council offices are, she added, such an important part of Cheltenham that “…placemaking forms an important part of it,”

Hay is, she said, “chomping at the bit” to find out who will win the bid and what they’ll do with the building. Despite the offices being an iconic building, they have to move with the times to keep up with modern life.

The offices deserve better

“Occupying half of a Grade II listed building is not what that building deserves,” said Hay. It deserves a new life, she added, whether it will be as a hotel, a retail space or as housing.