[3] However, in the early 20th century, civic leaders decided to procure purpose-built council buildings: the site they chose was open land on the south side of what was then Church Lane (later renamed Newton Road).

[4] The vestry hall, which had been owned by the local board, was subsequently sold to St Mary's Church[5] and the proceeds applied towards repaying funds borrowed to finance the cost of the new building.

[6] The new building was designed by William Madin in the Renaissance style, built in red brick with stone dressings by a local contractor, R. Marriott, and was officially opened on 19 December 1906.

[7] The design involved a symmetrical frontage at the junction of Newton Road and Park Road; the corner section featured a doorway flanked by Doric order columns supporting an entablature inscribed with the words "Council Buildings"; on the first floor there was a curved stone balcony with a balustrade bearing the town's coat of arms and a recessed French door with an arched surround; the section was flanked by full-height octagonal turrets and there was a gable at roof level.

[6][11] A programme of improvement works, which included the construction of a glass atrium connecting the council buildings with the adjacent Carnegie Library, was carried out in the mid-1990s.