A new centre for democracy in Monmouthshire is on course to be completed by March 2013.

Work on Monmouthshire County Council's (MCC) new £7.3million headquarters at Coleg Gwent's Usk campus is well underway.

The centre will house a new council chamber and most of the council's public-facing staff including the planning department. It will also provide a base for chief executive Paul Matthews and elected members.

The move has saved the council millions in public money, with updates to the previous headquaters in Cwmbran estimated to have cost £30million.

The Beacon was given a behind-the-scenes tour of the site last week by contractors Willmott Dixon, the construction firm behind the learning plaza at Castle Park Primary School in Caldicot.

Though the building is far from complete, the steel and concrete structure already in place gives you an idea of the space the council will be working in.

At 2,500sq m, the centre will be a fraction of the size of County Hall and features such as biomass boilers, recycled water tanks and photo voltaic roof tiles will ensure it is as eco-friendly as possible and should achieve a sustainable BREEAM rating of excellent.

Neal Stephens, managing director of Willmott Dixon in Wales, said: "This is a fantastic project for Willmott Dixon to be a part of, and one which marks the continuation of a positive relationship we formed with MCC more than 12 years ago.

"There were a number of challenging factors which had to be taken into consideration during the planning stages of the project.

"We have worked closely with MCC as well as Coleg Gwent to produce innovative solutions to these challenges and to ensure that our vision for the site successfully meets the needs of all parties."

More challenges have presented themselves during construction, including bats found in the area. A nesting space is being built into the centre with 'bat bricks' providing the creatures with their own entrance to the new building.

A flood prevention scheme has also been created in conjunction with the Environment Agency including flood bunds.

Currently, the building is being worked on by the staff of Willmott Dixon, but now that the building is almost water-tight, local tradespeople will be brought in to help to finish the build.

When complete, the building will house 200 desks to be used by 400 officers and 43 councillors on the same flexible working system employed at MCC's @Innovation House in Magor.

• The discovery of a nuclear bunker underneath County Hall has knocked £675,000 off its value.

At a recent full council meeting, deputy leader Councillor Bob Greenland said a void underneath the building had been discovered, so large that when the building is demolished large amounts of soil will have to be imported to flatten off the site.

A revised asset valuation of County Hall has seen estimates drop from £900,000 to £275,000.