Members of North York Moors National Park Authority (NYMNA) will be told next week that building a new multi-million-pound headquarters is the only way to meet the organisation’s long-term needs.
A final business case for the relocation to purpose-built offices in Riccal Drive, Helmsley, is due to be discussed at a special authority meeting on Monday, January 19.
The document sets out a number of reasons why the move is preferred by officers to staying at the existing headquarters at the Old Vicarage in the town’s Bondgate.
The report says the current office’s listed status and historic layout limit its suitability for modern working.
Staff are spread across several floors and separate annexes, restricting collaboration and flexible working.
Meeting space is already limited, while thick stone walls and lath-and-plaster interiors make it difficult to integrate modern technology and reliable wifi.
Accessibility would also remain constrained, as the building cannot accommodate a lift, preventing access to upper floors for some users.
Officers say designing the headquarters from the ground up would allow the authority to create a productive, collaborative and future-proof working environment.
The business case says the new two-storey building would feature open-plan office space alongside a range of meeting rooms, quiet working areas and collaboration zones.
It would feature on-site parking for staff and visitors, including disabled spaces, cycle storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging.
Landscaped outdoor areas would offer additional space for meetings and breaks, while the site’s proximity to the authority’s southern depot at the Old Print Works would reduce staff travel between locations and support more cohesive working.
The new headquarters is expected to achieve an EPC rating of A+ and generate more energy than it consumes through a proposed 70kW solar PV system.
The full cost of the new offices has not been revealed for commercial reasons, however the report estimates that over the next 40 years, the new headquarters would cost £4.26m, while renovating and remaining at the Old Vicarage site would cost slightly more at £4.30m.
NYMNPA would need to borrow around £2.22m to build the Ricall Drive offices.
The business case concludes by saying a decision on the proposed office move is one of the “most important and consequential” that members will take.
It adds: “Only option 2 (building new offices) can fully create a modern, professional, accessible working environment that will meet the authority’s long-term needs, contribute positively to our climate change commitments and mark the start of a new chapter in the success of the organisation.”
The location of the new headquarters has angered some local residents who say it will create additional traffic along what is now a residential street.
Helmsley Town Council also criticised North Yorkshire Council’s decision last year to grant the headquarters planning permission, saying it contravened Helmsley Plan, which requires development in the town to be coordinated.
Town councillors said that had not happened with the headquarters scheme and plans for around 50 houses plus commercial units on a nearby site.
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