Sirona care & health has agreed to take up a tenancy and establish its organisational headquarters in South Gloucestershire Council’s Badminton Road office building in Yate.
Both organisations, which already work closely together, look forward to further strengthening their working relationship. By moving some of its staff to Yate, Sirona will benefit from the use of modern office space and facilities, while the council will receive rent, which will help balance the budget at a time when the cost of delivering services continues to increase.
Sirona provides community NHS services, from Health Visitors to very young children, through to school nursing and district nursing for adults, as well as specialist healthcare services all aimed at improving health outcomes for all.
The healthcare provider delivers these services to communities across South Gloucestershire as well as to people in Bristol and North Somerset
Following the signing of the lease agreement, work will take place to prepare the office space for Sirona, including ensuring IT equipment is installed, ahead of moving staff to the building towards the end of the year. The building will remain South Gloucestershire Council’s headquarters.
Sirona is a Community Interest Company and the services it provides are commissioned and funded through the NHS and Local Authority contracts. As part of its commitment to serving local communities, partnering with a Local Authority for its corporate headquarters rather than a private company ensures best use of public money.
The council and Sirona already work closely together in a number of areas and being based at the same site is set to further strengthen this partnership.
The council is always looking for ways to make the best use of its assets, including land and buildings. This approach is endorsed each year in consultations with residents when the budget is being developed. In recent years the council has successfully introduced more flexible ways of working for its staff, which means that space can be used in different ways to support the delivery of important services. This has in turn released office space and created the opportunity to generate income through leasing out parts of the building.
The council’s budget currently includes a savings target of £500,000 to be generated by more efficient use of its estate. The agreement with Sirona will contribute a proportion of that target.
Negotiations are also underway with another potential tenant to take up space in the Badminton Road office.
The council has a budget gap of almost £5 million projected for 2025/26, and in addition to the property strategy, work is now underway to find new ways to reduce costs and further increase income in order to balance the books in the future.
South Gloucestershire Council Executive Director for Resources & Business Change, David Wilkin, said: “We are focussed on making the very best and most efficient use of our resources, including our buildings. Our Badminton Road office is modern and well located, so we are delighted to have been able to reach an agreement with Sirona, who we already work closely with, which benefits both organisations.
“The income will help us meet our planned savings targets at a time when our costs continue to rise, so that we can focus on supporting our front-line services. Our absolute priority is on protecting the support that our residents rely on, and our property strategy will help us to make the most of our assets for their benefit.”
Sue Porto, Chief Executive Officer, Sirona, said: “We are extremely pleased to be moving our headquarters to the council building in Badminton Road. The building provides excellent facilities for our staff and is a great location from which we can work together across departments and functions.
“As providers of community NHS healthcare, we are striving to improve health outcomes for everyone across our communities and having a unified headquarters is a key step on our journey to ensuring we can continue to achieve this key aim.
“Moving to Badminton Road is a key step in ensuring our organisation is optimised for the post-pandemic world where hybrid working still requires locations for our staff to meet and collaborate in the same space.
“This move will also help grow our already strong partnership working with South Gloucestershire Council.”
