RENOVATION work has begun on the Whitehaven Town Council offices. 

The offices, which are located on Queen Street, in Whitehaven, were also home to the Whitehaven News for over one hundred years.

The building is now being used by the town council and will reopen in the summer of 2025 following the renovation work. 

Whitehaven Town Council said: "The town council had rented space for several years because when it was reformed about six years ago it didn't have its own home. 

"Renting isn't ideal and the opportunity came along to buy the former Whitehaven News building. 

"What we're doing is restoring one of the town's most prominent buildings and bringing it back to public use, which is great for the part of the town that it's in and the building itself. It is part of Whitehaven's heritage. 

"Once the building is restored it's going to have offices on the ground floor for the town council and the conference room upstairs, which used to be the reporters' room, that will be used for council meetings and other activities."

This will be the first time the building has been renovated for many years, due to the cost of materials and downturn in business. 

The Georgian building had stood empty for about eight years. 

The town council says that a lot of repair work will need to be done stating that the building will be getting 'a much-needed facelift.' 

They continued: "The offices date back to the 18th century, so this renovation work will hopefully see it good for another century. 

"It's essential to keep these types of buildings thriving in the town, Whitehaven is built on its history. 

"Other towns like Workington pulled apart all of their old Georgian and Victorian buildings to create the new shopping area. 

"As Workington reinvented its town centre several times, Whitehaven kept the bulk of its old buildings. Of course, the fabric of the town is old, so we need to see constant new money coming through to keep them going for the next generation."