BCP Council is to spend £195,500 carrying out due diligence on the purchase of the Barclays House site - and how it could be used.

One suggestion from the council is locating a seasonal park and ride scheme there. Other ‘opportunities’ include office space and ‘incubation’ space to stimulate economic development.

Chief executive, Graham Farrant, has already said turning part of the main building into the council's headquarters is one option.

Read more: Revealed: Council could buy Barclays House in Poole - as part of town's 'rejunvenation'

In a report on BCP Council’s decision to spend the £195,000, BCP's chief financial officer, Adam Richens, says the investigatory work would "provide a sufficient level of assurance" to allow the council to consider if the site could accommodate a variety of uses for the regeneration of the area and determine if the proposal is financially viable.

If it is, the council could then submit a final offer. The authority has a few weeks left to make a decision.

As the Echo reported last month, BCP submitted an offer to Barclays of £17m. But the leader of the council, Cllr Drew Mellor, while not confirming the stated figure, said “assertions that our indicative figure was higher than other interested parties is unsupported speculation.”

Read more: BCP's Barclays House bid was “indicative figure” made with "limited information"

The Echo understands that if the council does go ahead with the purchase, its offer could be a lot lower.

Mr Richens said a 'significant level' of technical due diligence is needed to find out the condition of the building and how much it would cost to repair and refurbish.

But the site could "kick start the regeneration of Poole" and include temporary additional "public parking capacity."

Around £120,000 of the investigation bill will be surveys and reports on building and concrete condition, the issue of asbestos, sustainability, health and safety, fire safety and the costs of demolition.

Read more: PICTURES: 46 years of Barclays House - the building that changed Poole's skyline

The project has been led by BCP's Asset Investment Panel which includes Mr Farrant, Mr Richens, leader Cllr Drew Mellor, deputy leader Cllr Philip Broadhead, and other senior officers.

The managing director of BCP FuturePlaces, Gail Mayhew, and chief operating officer, Craig Beevers have been consulted.

Director of delivery and regeneration, Sarah Longthorpe states the key risk of the investigatory process is that the £195,500 costs will be 'aborted' if the council decides not to proceed.

BCP Liberal Democrat Cllr Marcus Andrews, who is also chairman of the South Wessex Board of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors told the Echo: "I get that you have to due diligence, but when you buy a building, you have to know what you are buying it for and what you want to do with it. This is clearly not the case."

Cllr Andrews said he understood the Barclays House basement was flooded and the building was also "stuffed with asbestos. It is very likely they will find it is beyond salvation and will have to be knocked down."

The building is being marketed with no energy performance certificate.

Colleague Cllr Vikki Slade said: "If they want a seasonal park and ride the simple option from the west is to re-open the Creekmoor one that's already there.

"There is also a perfectly good option at the Civic Centre multi storey that could provide a free hopper to the beach. A park and ride at Barclays is mad."

A BCP spokesperson said: “Rejuvenating Poole is key to the council’s Big Plan and much work is already underway to create a vibrant, attractive and sustainable mix of new housing, businesses, hospitality, retail, culture, waterfront and green spaces to this part of the region.

“The purchase of Barclays House on Wimborne Road potentially presents a unique opportunity that we would like to explore further as part of our wider ambitions for Poole.

“It is a very large and prominent building with 1,100 parking spaces within the heart of Poole and is a potential opportunity to consider alongside our wider regeneration plans.

“There is a tremendous amount of due diligence underway as we explore this opportunity and a decision on whether to include the site within the regeneration plan has not yet been made.

“Over the next few months, we will be conducting further studies and surveys to establish whether this purchase is something which the council wishes to progress.

“Any decision to purchase the site would be subject to the council’s decision-making process and would require approval by the full council.“