FOR 57 years Shire Hall has stood at the gateway to Mold, an iconic landmark proudly overlooking Moel Famau and standing as the seat of power in Flintshire.
But today it is an empty shell after Flintshire County Council completed its move to former Redrow office Tŷ Dewi Sant in Ewloe.
Friday, February 28 was officially the final day of council business at the Raikes Lane site.
“It’s a shame that this building is going,” said Flintshire County Council leader Cllr Dave Hughes. “It’s been the landmark of Mold for the last 57 years.
“But things have to move on. Shire Hall is just not viable any more. It’s tired.”
Some of the buildings on the Shire Hall site have already been vacated and demolished, but it is demolition of the main County Hall building – which houses the council chamber – that will finally signal the end of an era.
Shire Hall was originally scheduled to be built in 1939 for around £75,000 on Earl Road in Mold – but the start of World War II saw the plan put on the backburner.
After the war the council operated out of huts transported from Kinmel Military Training Camp on Hallfields – where Mold bus station is now situated.
In 1954, Alderman H T Edwards said there was a need for “a county building worthy to house an important county authority, and house it in such a way that it can effectively discharge its duties and its functions”.
The council identified land it had purchased from the Llwynegrin Hall Estate back in 1948 for the princely sum of £14,000 as a potential home for the building – and that is where the Shire Hall stands today.
Nevertheless, it took until November 1962 for construction to be approved, with the budget having now increased from £75,000 to £904,123 including furnishings – equivalent to £16.5m today.
The building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II’s sister, Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon, on May 29th 1968.
Initially the home of Flintshire County Council, it was then the headquarters of Clwyd before reverting to Flintshire following the local government reorganisation in the mid-1990s.
“It’s the end of an era,” said Cllr Chris Bithell – one of Flintshire’s longest-serving councillors. Cllr Bithell has been active in local politics since 1970, joining Mold Urban Council just two years after Shire Hall was opened.
Cllr Bithell’s father knew the Shire Hall well, working there in the Social Services department on the fifth floor.
“I was never on the old Flintshire County Council as I was a teacher and you weren’t allowed,” he said. “But I was allowed to be on Mold Urban Council and then Delyn District Council so I did that.
“Then when the reorganisation came about I decided to take early retirement and dedicate myself to the county council full-time.
“I’ve had a few late nights in Shire Hall. We’ve had some very good times and some miserable ones. Recently with budgets and things it’s not been very pleasant.
“But I do remember in the days of Delyn giving the freedom of the county to the Royal Welch Fusiliers and having the third battalion marching outside. It was quite a spectacle.
“The building is like Marmite. Some people love it and some hate it. I remember Cllr Klaus Armstrong-Braun from Broughton, he wanted it made a listed building and I think he had a point.
“I think of its era it’s quite notable. One of the distinguishing features here is the way the windows are prominent. If you look at the former American Embassy in Grosvenor Square, I think that is a feature Shire Hall shares with that wonderful building.
“For its time it was a remarkable building.”
There are plans to demolish the building and develop the land, but a decision has yet to be made on what will be built and which developer the authority will partner with to transform it.
One fear is that the historic relief map of Flintshire county as it was in 1748, including Maelor, Bottesley and St Asaph within the county boundary – will be lost during demolition.
The map, which is cemented into the wall in the Shire Hall reception, includes the crests of every rural district council in Flintshire at that time but there is uncertainty around whether it can be removed and where it would go.
Cost is one of the main reasons Shire Hall is being vacated. Estimates put the running costs of remaining at Shire Hall at £1.2 million per year and the maintenance and repair bill for the next 25 years estimated to be an additional £26m.
Moving to Ty Dewi Sant has cost the council £805,000. As the landowner, it now hopes to partner with a developer to redevelop the site in a way which generates some revenue for the council to help improve its precarious financial position.
Deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for Transformation is Cllr Richard Jones. Among his responsibilities are helping the council make savings and maximise the value of its assets.
“Shire Hall was once referred to as Legoland,” he said. “Unfortunately even Lego has to be dismantled.
“Early on people in this process people wanted me to commit to social housing or a particular use for the site. But we recognise this is a really well thought-of site. It’s high ground, very obvious and prominent and lots of developers are interested in it.
“We don’t have the money to develop it – it’s going to cost around £3.3m just to demolish the site – but we own the land. That’s why we are looking for a partner. Someone to assist in developing the land but where we can retain some control over what’s put on here.
“What we don’t want is to find a partner who is clearly only interested in finances, we want some social value from the development too.
“We don’t want five bedroom houses all over the top of the hill looking out over the countryside, we need something which Flintshire can be proud of.
“This is the biggest and most prestigious single site Flintshire owns and developing it won’t be simple. What goes here needs to fit in and around the law courts and Llwynegrin Hall which are not going anywhere and Theatr Clwyd.
“It can’t look too urban because of its prominence in the landscape so it is going to be a balancing act.”
