Glasgow council could buy London Road offices where CCTV network is monitored

Council chiefs are proposing Glasgow’s local authority buys offices on London Road where the city’s public CCTV network is monitored.

Councillors will be asked to approve negotiations with the owners of the Eastgate building at a meeting later this week. The council’s current lease for the property will expire in 2032.

It is currently home to Glasgow’s operations centre, which manages hundreds of public space and traffic cameras.

In a report, officials state the council has “the opportunity to acquire a building which has been identified as suitable for medium to long term operational purposes”.

The four-floor building, with 94 car parking spaces, at 727 London Road is currently owned by Zirconia Cathures Unit Trust. The firm previously approached the council to discuss “longer-term operational requirements”.

“At the time, the council was unwilling to commit, and the landlord subsequently marketed the investment opportunity,” the council report states.

“Whilst the investment attracted interest, there were ultimately no proposals to the landlord’s satisfaction.”

Council bosses believe the building provides a “strategic geographic location” within the city’s boundaries and “presents further co-location opportunities”.

They believe purchasing the property would offer a “more financially favourable arrangement than the current or re-geared lease deals”.

The report continues: “The cost of prudential borrowing for the estimated acquisition value would be broadly similar to, or less than, the current lease costs.

“The recommendation, therefore, is that the borrowing costs are met by the existing revenue budget that pays the current lease costs to 2032. The additional benefit being that an acquisition secures an asset for the council and avoids end of lease dilapidations costs.”

The city administration committee will consider the proposal at a meeting on Thursday. If negotiations go ahead, the council’s contracts and property committee would be asked to approve the conclusion of the deal at a later date.