Buckinghamshire Council has brought forward a plan to turn its ‘derelict’ offices in Walton Street Aylesbury into 46 flats, none of which will be affordable.

Cabinet members voted through a plan to redevelop the neoclassical building, which the former county council vacated in 2014.

Their decision means the council will seek to strike a contract with a developer to create 27 one-bed and 18 two-bed flats, a studio apartment, 15 car parking spaces and 76 spaces for bicycles.

Leader of the Conservative-run council Martin Tett told cabinet: “I have wanted this building developed since I took over as leader of the old county council many years ago.

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“It has been an uphill task – easier than pushing water uphill than getting this job off the ground. I am really pleased we have got to a stage now where it looks like we can actually move forward on this.”

Mr Tett said he hoped the new flats would ‘bring a new cohort of residents’ into the town centre to boost local businesses and give a ‘derelict building’ a new use.

The council’s plans to convert the offices into housing were approved in August 2021 with no requirement for affordable housing.

However, plans then stalled due to inflationary pressures and a failed marketing exercise.

Since then, the council has secured £690,000 worth of ‘brownfield land release funding’, which it claimed had attracted a developer.

The cash is to be used for asbestos removal, groundworks and any demolition needed to turn the offices into new homes.

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