A local authority is preparing a second attempt at “greening” its council offices - at a possible cost of £7.7 million.

The measures that Maidstone council is planning will see a replacement low-carbon heating system installed at its main headquarters building in King Street, as well as interior secondary glazing, internal insulation, and replacement air handling units.

The estimated cost of the measures is £6.7m, but the council is keen not to get caught out after the costs of a previous plan sky-rocketed, so it is also allowing a “contingency” of £500,000 and a “tolerance” of 10%, taking the budget to £7.7 million.

The project at Maidstone House and The Link building will include the redecoration of the office space and the installation of solar panels on the roof of The Link and Business Terrace.

The idea is partly to meet the aspirations of the council’s climate change action plan, but officers also said that the mechanical and electrical plant serving the buildings was “at the end of serviceable life” with “suboptimal” energy ratings.

The council embarked on plans for a greening mission for the building once before, but they were abandoned in November of last year after the estimated costs soared by 41% - and the council’s expected rate of return on its investment fell to 1.9%.

Nevertheless, the building remains a key polluter in the council’s property estate, said to generate 17.6% of all the authority’s carbon emissions, according to a 2022 study.

Officers said that only remedial repairs had been carried out on the building since the council acquired it on a long lease in 2021 and some work now couldn’t be avoided.

Parts of the building are let by the council to private commercial tenants, and officers said the council had a duty as landlord to properly upkeep the building.

Officers advised members of the climate transition policy advisory committee on Tuesday that if no action were taken there was a risk that the building’s plant would fail and the council could find itself homeless.

A majority of committee members recommended that the cabinet go ahead with the plan.

But not everyone was in favour. Conservative members Cllrs Tom Cannon and Stan Forecast voted against.

It’s an irresponsible use of public funds

Cllr Forecast said: "Spending £6m to £7m of taxpayers' money just to decarbonise a council building is an irresponsible use of public funds.

“The leader [Cllr Stuart Jeffery] is embarking on a dangerous ideological obsession when funds and focus should be on Local Government reorganisation, making our town safe, and cutting bills for families and businesses."

Cllr Jeffery (Green) responded: “There are two reasons why we are planning this upgrade.

“One is decarbonisation - it will help us meet the council’s adopted policy of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

“The other is that the offices are in a simply appalling state and something needs to be done to make them fit for purpose.

“As regards my ideological obsession - yes, I do have an ideological obsession to ensure that there is a future for our younger generations.

“If Cllr Forecast has a problem with that, I don’t know why.”