THE future of Luxstowe House at Liskeard, where 250 staff are employed, comes up for discussion at a meeting of Cornwall Council Cabinet on Wednesday.

The finances and resources committee is discussing office rationalisation and new offices at Bodmin, both of which could have an impact on Luxstowe, the former HQ of Caradon Council before the Unitary Authority took over in 2009.

The county council is looking at cost saving by centralising some offices. One of the proposed options, which is for a new £14.3m 675-person office in Bodmin, could involve relocating staff from other areas.

Cabinet member for finance and resources Alex Folkes (Launceston), said that following concerns expressed by councillors, his preferred option, if the new building goes ahead, would be to maintain a strong presence in Liskeard and move BT Cornwall staff based at Truro offices to Bodmin instead.

Liskeard county councillors, Roger Holmes (North), Sally Hawken (East) and Mike George (South) have expressed concerns that services in Liskeard, such as the One Stop Shop and Cornwall Housing must be retained.

Cllr Hawken said: 'Luxstowe House is not about the building, but the people and the services, and the jobs for the local economy. We do not yet have confirmation that everyone is going to stay in Liskeard, but we are pleased cllr Folkes wants to keep the option for jobs and services in the town.'

Cllr Folkes said under the option for a new building, up to 30 staff in offices around Liskeard could move to Bodmin. However, the future for Luxstowe House still may not be firm because of other factors.

Cornwall Housing, which wants to cut its costs and accounts for a large number of staff at Luxstowe, is looking to re-locate offices from around the county to Bodmin.

Should it move from Liskeard, a statement on the agenda of the finances and resources committee says this would release its current HQ at Liskeard (Luxstowe), with the possibility of using it as an affordable housing site instead.

Former leader of Caradon Council, Liskeard town councillor Tony Powell, said an accommodation review was undertaken before the Unitary Authority came into being.