Questions are being asked about the possibility of Cheltenham's Municipal Offices sale falling through, following the collapse of the Gloucestershire Airport deal recently.
Cheltenham Borough Council revealed in May 2025 that its Grade II-listed office building was set to be converted into a luxury spa hotel, selecting Almiranta Capital, 'an international team which has previously delivered high end hotels across Europe', as the preferred bidder for its sale.
But a council worker, who does not wish to be named, has told local democracy reporter Carmelo Garcia that the council is relocating housing staff there from the Hesters Way Community Resource Centre, stoking fears the deal could fall through.
The council worker said: 'Apart from the fact this takes us and our services away from the community, it raises questions over the sale of the Municipal Offices.
'Why are staff being moved in there when it鈥檚 supposedly being sold?'
It comes after the sale of Gloucestershire Airport, by joint owners Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council, to their preferred bidder collapsed in March 2026, following months of negotiations and due diligence.
Cheltenham Borough Council leader Rowena Hay answered questions about whether the Municipal Offices sale could go the same way as the airport deal at a full council meeting last month.
'Do I think that it could go down the same way as the airport, clearly, it could', Councillor Hay said.
'But I鈥檓 not prepared at this point to say that yes that is the way it is going to go.
'Because the noises, the work and the due diligence that is happening is all very positive as it was with the airport.
'But sometimes these very big deals just don鈥檛 come off. As anyone who has been involved in business and selling commercial [property knows] it鈥檚 a fact of life.'
A council spokesperson said they regularly review the premises they operate out of as a matter of best practice.
'Any movement of staff will be managed and we will work to ensure that our community interactions are not negatively affected', they said.
'We remain in an exclusivity period with a preferred bidder for the sale of the Municipal Offices.'
