THE county council will consider “significantly” cutting the number of buildings it owns or rents - partly because more staff are working from home.

If approved, the sale of buildings will generate £7.6 million and see staff move to local hubs and increase the use of libraries to provide more public-facing services and drop-in spaces.

A Hampshire County Council report said several buildings are in poor condition and need significant investment to make sure they are fit for purpose.

In 2022/21, as a result of Covid-19, the council reduced its office accommodation by leaving Hampshire House in Eastleigh, Fareham Reach, and Fareham Borough Council offices, which were occupied under lease arrangements.

New data shows that since hybrid working was established, the county council’s office use has remained lower than before the pandemic.

Around 2,000 county council employees are located in the buildings under review. On average, only 30 per cent of desks are in use at any one time, with peak utilisation reaching 50 per cent.

In 2023, a review was undertaken to address the surplus capacity and establish opportunities to further reduce the office portfolio and associated facilities across wider Hampshire.

The review found that the county council could reduce the number of buildings by moving services, developing new working methods, and using retained buildings more efficiently.

This review incorporated main area office hubs and ancillary sites, library buildings, register offices, former children’s centre buildings and corporate storage across the county.

Although libraries and register offices were included in the review, it did not consider closing any libraries or other public services.

Those buildings were included to consider how any office space within them might be used in the future.

It also includes accommodation the county council occupies under lease arrangements in several district council offices.

All assets on the review are currently used as office accommodations, meeting spaces for county council employees, or spaces that can accommodate staff and services in office buildings.

The total amount spent on property costs, which includes rent, rates, and utilities, for all the assets under review is £3.3 million net of rental income and £3.7 million gross. Ten assets under review contribute to 70 per cent of the total property costs.

The report indicated that “several assets” are “in poor condition” and “require significant investment to maintain” them in a “fit-for-purpose state”.

There is a mixture of freehold and leasehold sites across the portfolio. A quarter of the assets are leased and, therefore, cannot be sold.

Where there are freehold sites which the council wants to sell, planning appraisals and title reviews will be required to inform detailed valuations and a per-asset disposal strategy.

The proposal will be considered on Thursday.