Work on Nottinghamshire County Council’s new low carbon, all-electric office, north of Hucknall along A611 Annesley Road, has now begun as part of a major investment in the area.
The new office is designed to help bring long-term savings for the taxpayer and environment as part of a wider project to move more front-line council services into cost-effective, energy saving buildings.
It also marks a key milestone for the site which is planned to be regenerated into a new community which will include 805 new homes. The site is on council-owned land which has been earmarked for development for more than a decade.
Nottinghamshire County Council Leader, Councillor Ben Bradley MP, welcomed the start of work on site. He said: “This a key milestone and shows we are looking to the future. The decision-making function of this Council will be based in the very heart of our county and will help to bring jobs, skills and investment into the wider Hucknall area.
“In going down from 17 offices to 9, we’re saving local taxpayers millions, and ensuring that we can prioritise delivering services rather than just running expensive buildings. We’ve got a plan to make local services more sustainable for local people, for the long term.”
Nottinghamshire County Councillor Keith Girling, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management, added: “This new, carbon-neutral office provides good value and is part of our wider plans to reduce the number of council offices as we modernise the way we work which will save taxpayers’ money in the long term.
“One of the many advantages of this new building is that Morgan Sindall’s local supply chain will benefit from this, which is great news for the economy.”
The first phase of works for the new office includes site clearance and creating a safe access to site. Construction work is due to start in the New Year and due to be completed in early 2025.
As well as the Council’s civic, democratic and leadership functions, it will be the new home to two key frontline services, the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for vulnerable children and adults, and the council’s customer service centre, which handles all public enquiries.
Meanwhile, construction of a new section of road and roundabout within the site, which began in September 2023, is progressing well and expected to be completed by Summer 2024. The aim is to improve access to the new office and ultimately help traffic flow ahead of planned new housing due to be built on the wider site.
The new office is being designed, project and cost-managed by Arc Partnership and delivered through Arc’s construction partner, Morgan Sindall Construction, with opportunities for their own local supply chain as the development takes shape.
Earlier in the summer, the majority of county councillors voted to eventually move out of County Hall in West Bridgford and move the Council’s civic, democratic and leadership functions into the new office.
County Hall is too expensive to operate and maintain with a cost of more than £1.7m each year. It also requires essential maintenance costing more than £30m over the next 12 years, plus an additional £28m would be needed to bring the building up to modern environmental standards. And with the rise of home working, it is too large to meet council needs.
