CHESHIRE County Council looks set to vacate Backford Hall.

The grade ll listed building, about five miles from County Hall, has been occupied by the county engineering service since the 1940s.

The engineers were later joined by trading standards officers in purpose-built offices, and more recently by county planners.

County Hall documents reveal Backford Hall and temporary offices in the grounds will not be required in the long-term, and the possibility has been raised of the council preparing a conservation plan for the hall and grounds.

This would assist any future development of the Green Belt site by seeking to ensure visual improvement to the character and setting of the house.

The future of the property has emerged in connection with an application by the council's property management service to retain two temporary mobiles as office accommodation in the grounds for a further three years.

This is said to be necessary to cover the timetable for the review by the council of its offices.

The extension for the removal of the mobiles is opposed by Chester City Council, which claims there has been a lack of progress in relocating the offices and believes there are no exceptional circumstances to justify their retention.

Planning officer Helen Marriott told county councillors in a report the main issue was whether special circumstances exist to justify retaining the offices in the Green Belt and their impact on the hall.

Office managers say there is no quick-fix solution to 'complex office accommodation issues' and a medium-term approach for future office provision was agreed last autumn.

This is subject to detailed financial appraisals, which include the value of the county's existing office buildings and their potential for redevelopment.

The county's development regulatory committee agreed the mobiles could stay for a further three years, subject to the preparation of a conservation plan for Backford Hall and to any views by the Secretary of State.