UP to £15,000 of public money will be spent hiring 'space gurus' to advise Test Valley Borough Council how to use spare office space at Beech Hurst.
Despite the misgivings of some councillors, the majority of the council's executive committee voted to spend the cash to determine where Romsey-based council officers could be accommodated in the Andover offices.
Some executive members, including Romsey's Tadburn ward councillor Mark Cooper, asked why the office space survey couldn't be carried out in-house. "To spend £15,000 on space planning is ridiculous. Why not use these officers' skills to allocate who goes where in the building?" Cllr Cooper said.
Leader of the council Ian Carr told the meeting hiring an outside firm would avoid territorial arguments.
At the final vote, four councillors voted in favour of granting the project a budget of up to £15,000, and three voted against.
The work will be carried out alongside an in-house feasibility study designed to raise questions about the long-term viability of the council's Duttons Road site in Romsey.
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