Will County Hall Taunton become student digs?

Still looking for ways to claw their way out of debt, the powers that be at Somerset County Council are thinking about leasing or selling off parts of their building  and have announced they are in early discussions with Somerset College.

The college may relocate their halls of residence from Canonsgrove in Staplehay relocation of its Halls of Residence to central Taunton,if the seven storey office block at County Hall will work.

New ways of working are being brought in at the Council which will make much better use of office space. This means that around 2,500 staff based at County Hall will no longer have to be spread across the current three office blocks on the site.

Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr David Huxtable, said: "We are looking at all of our properties to identify where we can make savings or generate income for our council taxpayers. The Council will be a smaller organisation by 2013 and we need to make more efficient use of our office space so that we can continue to deliver good value for money for local residents.

"We are currently in talks with Somerset College as they are looking to provide student accommodation near to its main campus on Wellington Road, Taunton."

Rachel Davies, Principal of Somerset College, said: "We are already a major provider of university courses in Somerset, and as a result of higher education changes we expect student numbers to grow. Having university students studying and living in central Taunton would be a major boost for the town and the County. The County Hall accommodation is one of a number of options open to the College."

This is all very much in the early stages and nothing will be known until later in the year.