COUNCIL chiefs are on the verge of buying a multi-million pound office complex in Worcester, it has emerged.

Worcestershire County Council currently rents out this Wildwood complex, a snazzy set of offices in Spetchley costing taxpayers £678,845 a year.

Now it wants to take the site over, saying it will prove better value for money in the long run and will form a good second base across the road from its County Hall HQ.

The move comes at a time when bosses have spent years frantically disposing of more than 100 unwanted pieces of real estate, raking in £26 million since 2011.

The Worcester News revealed yesterday how the drive to flog swathes of unwanted sites will carry on until 2020, with the aim of raking in another £19 million in sales.

But the council sees Wildwood, which is privately owned and also shared with NHS workers, as a good long-term purchase.

A new report on the bid says the current asking price works out at £11.2 million when all the costs including stamp duty are added together, although the price for council pays is subject to negotiation.

At the moment the lease it has on Wildwood still has 18 years to run with no break clause, meaning the authority is locked in unless it chooses to buy the site.

The rent is only reviewed every five years and the next one is due in November 2019, with the Conservative leadership anxious to get a better deal.

County Hall's adult services department occupies some of the building as well as the children, family and community teams, with the NHS renting the west wing.

The Conservative cabinet has voted in favour of negotiating a price to buy the site, as well as approve a "maximum financial limit", although that sum is being kept confidential ahead of the talks.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the leader, said: "We do have an 18-year lease, so we will be paying money under the current arrangement - this move allows us to own the asset.

"We will be approaching it with sensible caution."

Councillor Peter McDonald, who leads the opposition Labour group, said he would be asking more questions about it.

"It does actually make a change for the council to be positive and investing into assets, rather than selling off all the family silver," he said.