ONE of the most important office buildings in Ipswich is to come back into use – but the work will take too long to prevent one major company from moving its headquarters out of town.

ONE of the most important office buildings in Ipswich is to come back into use - but the work will take too long to prevent one major company from moving its headquarters out of town.

Fisons House in Princes Street is considered to be one of the most outstanding 1960s offices in the area, much of it is built on stilts above ground level.

But it needs to be largely rebuilt before it can be occupied by a new tenant - and this work will take up to a year to complete.

The offices were considered as the new headquarters for 'one', the new rail company that runs almost all services in East Anglia.

Former Anglia Railways staff are based in offices at nearby St Clare House, but this is not large enough for the enlarged company.

After looking for new office space near Ipswich station, the company is now planning to move its administrative staff to offices in Colchester near the station there.

"We would have liked to find offices in Ipswich, and Fisons House had the ideal location but we couldn't wait a year for it to be refurbished," said 'one' communications manager Peter Meades.

The staff are due to move into their new office in Colchester during September, and Mr Meades said there should not be serious problems in making the move.

The shift will not affect rail staff based at stations or on trains.

Meanwhile Fisons House has recently been sold to a pension company which is preparing to restore it for further use next year.

"A major company is preparing to move in there, but at present we cannot say who it is," said a spokesman for Ipswich council.

What do you think of 'one' moving its administrative offices from Ipswich? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk