IT is a huge shame that an iconic building which is currently home to the AA's headquarters in Basingstoke is to be put on the market, councillors say.

As previously reported, Fanum House is set to be put on the market after the AA has decided the 47-year-old building no longer meets its needs for a modern work environment.

The property will be marketed jointly by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, as the freehold owner of the site, and the AA, which still holds a long lease on the property.

Due to its age, Fanum House no longer provides the modern and sustainable offices that the AA needs, especially as the company has upgraded technology to meet the demands of its customers in the digital age and has adopted a hybrid home-office working model.

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The leader of the Basingstoke and Deane Independent group Cllr Paul Harvey said: "My immediate reaction is first of all concern for the AA and I hope they are going to stay in Basingstoke. 

"The AA is a very important employer locally and the council should be doing everything they can to keep them and to make them feel welcome to what they need. The council doing everything it can to offer them a modern working office environment for their staff going forward is important."

He continued: "It is such a landmark building on the Basingstoke skyline and when you drive down the M3 and you see the building it is distinctive on the landscape. It is old and it is out of date and the council are right to look at what sort of employment space is needed in the future."

He went on to say there are many questions that need answering, with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council having no "strategy for Basing View".

He added: "We want the business community to be working with us and we want a strategy for Basing View."

The leader of the Labour group Cllr Andrew McCormick agreed, adding: "It seems like they have moved faster than I thought. It is an iconic 70s building but the problem with it is that it has got appalling bad energy efficiency.

"I think the AA wants to move to somewhere that is a bit more energy efficient so they can get a carbon-neutral building. I don't know that for certain.

"I hope that there is a good lease lined up for the rebuilding because we need to continue transforming Basing View. I think there will be a lot of people in Basingstoke that would be upset at the prospect of it being knocked down."

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Meanwhile, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group Cllr Gavin James added: "It is a real shame that the AA may leave the town but hopefully we can find something in the town that they want to move into. There are opportunities in Basing View to build something new and Fanum House clearly is now quite dated as an office but it is a shame. It is an iconic building and I can actually see it from my house.  

"We all drive down the M3 and know we are nearly home because we can see it emerging from the skyline. I have always had that sense of homecoming from Fanum House so hopefully, something can be done with replacing the building with something iconic."

The building will be marketed in January 2023 to gauge interest from the property market before a final decision is made by the council and the AA.