Canterbury City Council's rundown offices in Military Road are set to close next year as the authority moves its entire operation to Whitefriars.

The dilapidated site - which has been the council's home for more than 40 years - is likely to be sold to a housing developer for a multi-million pound sum.

It will pave the way for the authority's move to four separate sites in the city centre shopping centre by the end of 2023.

Most of its staff will be based on the second floor of the former Topshop store, which would also have a small reception area on the ground floor.

But residents needing face-to-face appointments will go to a new front-of-house reception at the old RBS bank in Rose Lane.

The site would also host the print and mail service, and potentially become a base for the authority's enforcement officers.

Elsewhere, an empty space above Flying Tiger will be used as a storage area, while the council's CCTV control room will relocate to the Whitefriars management suite above Boots.

All of the sites are currently owned by the council following its controversial £155 million acquisition of the shopping complex - a purchase completed in 2018.

A council report suggests the proposed move will "increase footfall through the shopping centre", promoting a "greater spend in the surrounding retail stores and food/beverage outlets".

NewRiver, the firm which manages Whitefriars, is said to have "responded positively" to the plans, and the value of the complex is expected to rise as a result.

"The presence of the council as a tenant, with the investment security that it offers, should increase the overall portfolio value of the Whitefriars estate," the report states.

The current base in Military Road, which has been the council's home since 1981, is deemed unfit for purpose due to its size and running costs.

The original plan was for the authority to move into a £12 million new-build in Wincheap, but the pandemic and the council's tough financial situation has sparked a drastic rethink.

A meeting of the council's policy committee next Tuesday evening is set to see councillors recommend the move be approved.

Should the vote go the way it is expected, detailed design work will be carried out later this year and the authority will move at the end of 2023.

Leader of the council Ben Fitter-Harding said: "These options for Whitefriars have been assessed in great detail and a lot of work has gone into putting forward a plan that adds up both financially and with supporting the city's economy.

"There is much for councillors to discuss at the meeting and we will be considering the proposals very carefully. This is about how we set ourselves up to provide the best possible services to our residents in the years to come."

The estimated cost of the move is currently confidential, but it will be paid for by the sale of the sprawling Military Road site, which would likely be taken on by a housing developer.

Council bosses are particularly keen to leave the existing site as most of its staff are now working from home and will continue to do so in the long term.

They also say downsizing will help lower its carbon footprint.

Parking options are currently being assessed and details will be discussed at a later point in the process.

With the council taking on the the second floor of Topshop and a small reception area on the ground floor, the rest of the unit will remain for retail use.