Buckinghamshire Council has accepted a developer’s offer to buy its King George V House offices in Amersham, which closed earlier this year.

The unitary authority has not revealed the buyer of the King George V Road site, whose successful bid was one of 20 that were submitted.

Cabinet members accepted the offer during a confidential meeting session on Tuesday, [September 10].

Discussing the office sale, council leader Martin Tett said: “It will bring in, quite frankly, a substantial capital sum hopefully, which we desperately need.

“Both for what we have just discussed in terms of children’s services but also improvements hopefully to roads and other areas that residents really care about.”

The council said two supermarkets were among the bidders for the Amersham offices, which have space for 526 desks, but were only at 16 per cent of capacity following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cllr Tett stressed that the sale of the surplus site was an example of the council earmarking brownfield, rather than greenfield, sites for development.

He added: “I know it is in some cases quite painful to members who have served in previous authorities.”

Cllr Tett said this would be true for council staff who had served at Capswood, the Denham office of the former South Bucks District Council.

He said this would also be the case ‘in due course’ for old county council buildings in Aylesbury, while also suggesting that the council may dispose of buildings in High Wycombe in future.