Plans for new council headquarters in Didcot will be submitted ‘shortly’ – as newly released images show what the design could be.

South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of White Horse District Council will share the planned facility near Didcot Parkway station.

The four-storey building will be themed around the town’s railway heritage and will have ‘striking living walls’ of climbing plants along the brick wall façade.

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It will be used as offices for council staff - as it is central to both districts - and a flexible space for commercial rent and public areas, like a cafe and landscaped gardens.

Oxford Mail: A concept image of the buildings across from Station Road

Environmentally friendly materials will be used, and it is hoped the building will allow both councils to become carbon neutral bodies.

A formal planning application is expected soon from South Oxfordshire District Council.

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The two authorities were forced to find a new office after the previous headquarters at Crowmarsh Gifford near Wallingford were burnt to the ground by arsonist Andrew Main on January 15, 2015.

The councils had originally planned to build a new £17.8m office on that same site.

That plan changed because of the Covid-19 pandemic when many staff switched to working from home. The councils made that a permanent part of its work structure and decided to build a much smaller office.

The headquarter will be built on part of the Didcot Gateway site – an area being redeveloped by Homes England. Although the new office plan is separate to the wider development, the councils will work closed with Homes England.