Spelthorne councillors voted 23 to 2 to hold off selling Communications House in Staines until the masterplan is agreed, overruling advice to sell now.
Spelthorne Borough Council will not sell Communications House, its office block on South Street in Staines, until the Staines Masterplan has been agreed.
Full Council voted for the delay on Thursday 22 October. The final vote was 23 for, two against and two abstentions, as read out in the chamber on the council’s recording of the meeting. The written minutes have not yet been published.
Councillors went against their own officers. The report to Council recommended accepting an offer for the building now, and said a delay “does not align” with the government’s Best Value Directions.
How the vote went
The Leader opened the item by proposing the sale, as the report recommended. The motion was then amended to read, in full, that the council “defer any decision on the disposal of Communications House until the Staines Master Plan has been agreed”. That was the wording the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee had recommended on 12 October.
There were two votes, both on the recording:
- The amendment passed by 22 votes to none, with seven abstentions, in a recorded vote where each councillor’s choice was read out.
- The amended motion then passed on a show of hands, by 23 to two with two abstentions.
Who wanted it sold now
The decision runs against strong advice. As we reported on 15 October, the report to Council carried backing for an immediate sale from:
- the government-appointed commissioners, who “strongly support” it
- the council’s finance chief, who called the offer “at the top end of the anticipated offer range”
- West Surrey Council, which takes over from Spelthorne on 1 April 2027 and said “any delays in disposals will add to the financial challenges”
The report said the building is expected to lose money for the next six years if the council keeps it. The buyer’s name and the price are confidential. The report also warned that a buyer can cut the price or walk away before contracts are exchanged.
The other sale went through
The same meeting approved the sale of 12 Hammersmith Grove, an office block in west London the council bought in January 2018. That vote was 18 for, five against and three abstentions, according to the recording.
The Hammersmith Grove report says the building ran at a loss in 2025/26 and many tenants have chosen not to renew. Both sales are part of the asset rationalisation programme the council approved in December 2025, which aims to hit its target for sales income by 31 March 2027.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes on South Street for now. The building’s two office tenants stay, and there is no planning application for flats.
- The masterplan now decides the timing. The Staines Masterplan sets out about 3,282 new homes across the town centre. Its consultation closed on 24 August, and we have not found a date for agreeing the final version.
- Spelthorne has five months left. Anything it has not decided by 1 April 2027 passes to West Surrey Council, which replaces it.
- Any future plans for the building would go through the planning system. We track town centre schemes on our Staines planning news page.
The background to the sale is in our earlier report, Communications House: council to sell.
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