A £1.4 million proposal for a new "community hub" in Malvern is set to go before councillors next week.

The proposal by Malvern Hills District Council is to knock down the existing council chamber at Avenue Road and replace it with a larger 105 seat multi-use building connected to the existing Council House.

The new building is envisaged to have large meeting rooms, which could be hired by businesses and community groups during the week and at weekends for events, meetings and exhibitions.

There will be a new reception area, meaning the Council House will be open to the public again for the first time in a number of years, allowing staff to provide a better standard of customer service.

The town's Tourist Information Centre, currently at the top of Church Street, will be relocated to the site, bringing it closer to the railway station and the Priory Road car parks, which are well used by visitors.

The plan is on the agenda at the council's executive committee meeting on Tuesday, September 20.

If approved, and if planning permission is granted, work on the new building could begin in February 2017 and take 18 months to complete.

The council says it needs to act as the current council chamber is nearing the end of its life, is not fit for purpose and will cost £180,000 in essential maintenance costs alone over the next five years.

The TIC costs £100,000 a year to run which is unaffordable given the council needs to save £1.8million a year by 2018 due to government funding cuts. There will also need to be £25,000 spent on maintenance work on the building over the next five years.

The plan is part of a wider project which will see all council staff operate out of the Council House, instead of being split between there and Brunel House in nearby Portland Road.

Work to redesign the inside of the Council House will start in October 2016 and take four months to finish. Historic England has already backed the changes.

It will cost £450,000 in total but will allow Brunel House to be leased.

The new community building will cost £950,000, bringing the combined cost of the project to £1.4 million. However, this will release savings of £193,000 a year for the council, more than the £100,000 it was estimated could be saved from redesigning the use of council buildings in the council’s five year business plan.

If the council did nothing, then it would still have to spend a combined £480,000 on maintenance work on the council chamber, Council House, Brunel House and Tourist Information Centre.

Council leader Phil Grove said: “These changes, if approved, will help us to meet the significant financial challenge we face without impacting on the front line services residents rely on, which we are determined to protect.

“The project will also deliver us a new modern, purpose built building which will prove a valuable asset to the community."

If given the go-ahead by the executive committee, the proposal will then go to full council on Tuesday, September 27, for final approval.