A COUNCIL’S headquarters has been beset with problems since it reopened following an £11 million refurbishment, The Argus can reveal.

Council staff made 276 requests for repairs and maintenance at Hove Town Hall within the first four months of the 46-year-old building’s renaissance following its revamp.

Figures obtained by The Argus show numerous problems with leaks, toilets and power faults reported between August and November.

Councillors have also voiced their frustration at the heating system in the main council chamber which has left them having to don coats and scarves during public meetings.

Council bosses said all new buildings or refurbishments went through a period of snagging but said the move would prove to be good value for taxpayers.

The town hall reopened in August after a 15-month refurbishment as part of a multi-million pound property deal which will see Brighton and Hove City Council sell its King’s House seafront offices for a fee believed to be in excess of £20 million.

Before building works began there were 400 desks for 400 staff but the expanded town hall, which now has almost 20 per cent extra office space, is now home to almost twice as many staff sharing 600 hot desks - enabling them to move around.

Conservative councillors have questioned the value for money of the move claiming the authority should have considered selling both King’s House and Hove Town Hall and finding cheaper offices away from the city centre.

The authority has spent £45,000 fitting in new office furniture for the refurbished town hall.

GMB branch secretary Mark Turner said: “I hope the council his recouping its money back from the contractor that has done the work for all these repairs and maintenance.

“The thing about the building is that it is such a maze, it feels very claustrophobic.

“You have staff sitting in some rooms where there are no windows and no natural light and I have sat in meetings where everybody is wearing overcoats because the air conditioning is blowing out cold air.

“Some of the hot desks are in very strange places, you will come out of a meeting room and people are just working in the corridor.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “All new buildings or refurbishments will need to undergo a period of snagging where faults will need fixing.

“The move to Hove Town Hall has worked extremely well considering the scale of the task.

“As part of moves to reduce the number of buildings the council uses it will save taxpayers millions of pounds.”