SOUTH Bucks District Council will move its offices to Denham according to Beaconsfield mayor Malcolm Dunlop.

The council had considered relocating the offices to Burkes Road, in Beaconsfield, a move which caused widespread controversy in the town since it was first mooted in 1998.

At the moment the district council headquarters are in Slough, which is not in the area covered by the council, and is in Berkshire.

The announcement was made by Cllr Dunlop at the Beaconsfield Annual Town Meeting last Thursday.

He said: "The district council will be moving to offices in Denham and once they are there, they are likely to stay there for some time."

A district council spokesman refused to confirm the statement, but said: "The council is in negotiation with respect to a move to a property in Denham.

"Negotiations are not yet finalised and once we are nearer to signing a lease we will let people know."

South Bucks District Council initially raised the idea of moving the offices into the district in the wake of a report made by chief executive Chris Furness in 1998.

The report declared the council should shift from having just "offices for the council", and replace the concept with a "civic centre in the real sense of the word".

The Beaconsfield Campaign Group which has waged a long campaign against the initial proposals to site the offices in Beaconsfield refused to comment on the announcement.