Tamworth Regional Council staff relocation complete, remediation works on Ray Walsh House to start 2023

Remediation works on the CBD premises are expected to start in March next year, Tamworth Regional Council chief people officer Marie Resch said.

It'll then be up to council to decide whether all 280 staff will permanently move back into the building, or some spaces will be commercially leased out.

"There's a number of options out there," Ms Resch said.

Council staff have been relocated to six different spaces across the city, with the most recent move being the customer service team to 474 Peel Street.

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Ms Resch said of the six locations, four are council owned buildings and lease agreements are in place for the old Northern Daily Leader building and 127 Marius Street.

"We have been able to offset some of the expenses we would have had to run Ray Walsh House to the costs of commercially leasing premises," she said.

Council owned buildings have been refurbished to make them more "contemporary", which Ms Resch said would mean they would be more attractive to lease out once staff potentially move back to Ray Walsh House, which is expected to take three years.

Ms Resch said no community groups or businesses were forced out of any council owned buildings to accommodate staff.

Council remains tight lipped about the cost of remediating Ray Walsh House.

Mayor Russell Webb said council has been provided with "estimates" about how much the works could cost.

"There's no real prices we can talk about because we haven't got any quotes yet," he said.

The Office of Public Works is in the process of calculating the cost of the works.

The new customer service hub will be open to the public from January 3.

Cr Webb said the new location would be convenient and accessible for residents.

"You'll still get the same friendly service you used to get at Ray Walsh House," he said.

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