PLANS have been submitted to bulldoze a former council office and use the site for extra parking.

Westleigh House, in Carnarvon Road, Clacton, was the home of Tendring Council’s legal services department until the building shut last year after a money-saving restructure of the council.

The plan is to use the site to provide more spaces for the neighbouring, councilrun High Street car park.

The number of spaces has not yet been confirmed.

Interim council leader Paul Honeywood said: “It would be ideal to have extra parking for the town centre car park.

“But that doesn’t mean it will be used like that forever.

“At the moment, we think that’s the best option. We had the building valued by an independent valuer and they said the property was not suitable for conversion into a home and the best option was to demolish it.

“We have taken that advice and the space will be used for parking, leaving the option open to use it for something else in the future.

“The council’s free parking scheme for residents has been terrifically successful and demand outstripped supply.

“More spaces will be welcomed by shoppers and shopkeepers alike.”

The building was left empty after the council decided to centralise operations in an effort to cut costs.

The council was left with too much office space after a number of redundancies.

Work to demolish the building is earmarked to start on March 1 and is expected to last a month.

A decision on the application will be made by the council’s planning department by February 3.