Surrey County Council (SCC) has pulled out of its intended more to a new headquarters in Woking, citing coronavirus and the current lockdown restrictions.
The council announced back in November 2019 that it was intending to move its base from County Hall in Kingston back into the county itself.
It said it would be moving into Midas House in Goldsworth Road after considering options for a new base in one of Guildford or Woking.
Now, SurreyLive can reveal that the county council has pulled out of its intention to see through that move, citing the current COVID-19 pandemic as being responsible.
In a statement on Thursday (March 23), SCC said that the virus outbreak was having a "profound effect" on what it calls its 'Moving Closer to Residents' plans.
A spokesman said: "The current COVID-19 situation is having a profound effect on our Moving Closer to Residents plans. It will not now be possible to move the current Midas House tenants out in time, which also means we can't get access to the whole of the building to make it suitable for our use.
"In addition, the procurement and commissioning of a contractor to carry out the necessary works to make it into a new SCC Civic Heart would just not be possible under the current lockdown constraints."
The council added that Woking was still its choice as the future location for its new headquarters, but gave no indication as to when plans may get under way again.
A statement added: "In these circumstances it seems unlikely that we will need the capacity provided by Midas House, so it is not our present intention to proceed with its acquisition, though Woking is still our choice as the location for our Civic Heart."
Back in November, SCC confirmed that it was intending to buy Midas House, as opposed to leasing it. A Land Registry document recorded that Woking Borough Council owned the site, having paid £23,397,951 exclusive of VAT for the area in February 2019.
Also at the time the move was announced, leader of the council, councillor Tim Oliver, said that preparation to sell the current County Hall HQ were already "under way".
It is not known exactly which tenants remain at Midas House at this time, although chartered accountants Menzies LLP were based on one of the floors when SCC first detailed its intention to move into the building.
