WINCHESTER’S crumbling civic offices could be replaced as bosses look to improve working conditions for hundreds of staff.

Leaking roofs, draughty windows and poor heating could hurt morale at Winchester City Council without “extensive and expensive” repairs to its ageing offices, a meeting heard.

City Offices, behind the Guildhall in Colebrook Street, could be replaced or refurbished in the next few years under new plans.

The creaking building was built in the 1970s and was designed to last until the mid-‘90s.

Refurbishing the offices could cost up to £7 million, with an extra £5 million spent relocating staff during works.

Alternatively, extending the Guildhall’s west wing to provide a new block for staff could cost around £6 million.

The council has almost halved its office space in the last 11 years to cope with government budget cuts and expects to downsize further if it moves to a new building.

Extending the Guildhall would save space as the council is factoring an expected staff cut of around 10 per cent into its plans.

The council could boost the public purse by turning the City Offices site into a car park or letting it commercially.

Cllr Ian Tait told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the current site is “grotesque”.

He said: “We’re lucky that the Guildhall is as tall a building as it is, so it conceals the City Offices from wider public gaze.”

After the meeting, chief executive Simon Eden said: “People are pretty stoic about being in these offices, but if we put people in a good working environment we can ask more of them – and we ask a lot of people in local government these days.”

Reports on the cost and benefits of both schemes will be presented to cabinet in mid-2015.