COUNCIL leaders have not completely ruled out a return to the burnt-out headquarters at Crowmarsh Gifford, near Wallingford.

The £10m council offices were destroyed on January 15 last year when Andrew Main, 47, of nearby Rokemarsh, set it alight, together with the neighbouring Howard Chadwick funeral parlour and a cottage in Rokemarsh.

The offices in Benson Lane housed about 400 staff from South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils, who have since moved to Milton Park.

In March, SODC leader John Cotton said the site could be used for retirement homes featuring about 40 houses, with Crowmarsh Gifford retaining its village feel.

But this week Mr Cotton, who previously said a move back to Crowmarsh Gifford was unlikely, said a final decision on a permanent home for the council had not yet been made.

He added: "Locating a permanent home for the council is a top priority for our chief executive Dave Hill.

"We have a number of options available to us – we could rebuild Crowmarsh and go back there, we could sell the Crowmarsh site and use the finances to build a whole new headquarters, or we could continue to rent in the current building, or in a different one."

Mr Cotton said Vale council staff liked being situated close to the border of the two district council areas, which made Didcot an ideal location, with the town also the focus of major growth including thousands of new homes.

He added: "The ultimate decider could be the finances. Land in Didcot is incredibly expensive right now, certainly compared to the value of land in Crowmarsh.

"We need to home in on a decision by the end of the year with a final decision in the spring."

The council leader also revealed an insurance payment of about £5m had been received.

He said it would take about two years for a new headquarters to be built, while renovation would not take as long and could be achieved by the spring of 2018, if that option was selected.

Mr Cotton, who said extending the lease on the offices at Milton Park was a possibility, added that he did not spend any time worrying about the blaze.

He added: "I never look back. The fire was just one of those bumps in the road for the council.

"It could have been a huge crisis for us, but it was astonishing how the council and the public responded. We got past it and just kept going."

The funeral parlour was completely refurbished and Main, of Rokemarsh, was detained under the Mental Health Act indefinitely after pleading guilty to four counts of arson with intent to endanger life.

Wallingford district councillor Elaine Hornsby said earlier it would be good for businesses in the area if council staff did return to Crowmarsh Gifford, with Howbery Park business centre a possibility.