Former Ipswich County Hall in St Helen’s Street to go under the hammer despite permission to turn it into flats

Suffolk County Council’s former headquarters in Ipswich is due to go under the hammer next week – despite planning approval to turn it into flats.

Savills will be bringing grade II-listed Ipswich County Hall, in St Helen’s Street, to auction on May 13, with an asking price of £895,000.

Last year, plans were approved to convert the building into as many as 40 flats, despite the project being deemed financially unviable.

A financial viability report estimated the gross development value of the project would be £10,361,115, while gross development costs would be £11,307,317.

Sam Steinberg, from Savills, said the county hall was a striking and historically significant building, with a new buyer gaining the chance to breathe new life into one of the town’s ‘most iconic landmarks’.

He added: “With planning permission already secured for residential conversion, the groundwork has been laid for the building's future while offering an attractive proposition for developers and investors looking to take on a distinctive and rewarding project.”

Ipswich County Hall was built in 1836 as a jail.

Later, it served as a law court and offices and was where Wallis Simpson divorced her husband Ernest, allowing her to marry Edward, Duke of Windsor.

Following this, it was the home of East Suffolk County Council and, from 1974, Suffolk County Council before it moved to Endeavour House.

Plans to turn the building into flats were originally drafted in 2018, although these were never finalised.