Fears council HQ will cause 'horrendous' traffic

Chris Taylor, a resident in Hucknall, says traffic in the town is already a problem

Concerns have been raised a new council headquarters in Nottinghamshire will create "horrendous" traffic.

The county council is set to leave County Hall in West Bridgford and move to a new site off the A611, on the outskirts of Hucknall and Linby, next year due to high maintenance costs and more staff working from home.

An authority spokesperson said even at its busiest office, only 30% of its space was in use following the Covid pandemic.

Denise Ireland, chair of Linby Parish Council, said concerns about the impact the site would have on traffic were being ignored by the county council.

More than 200 people will work at the new county council headquarters

"I think it’s going to be horrendous for the village and the parish," she told the BBC.

Roughly 220 staff are expected to move to the site, which will be used by councillors, democratic services, social services, and the multi-agency safeguarding hub, the county council said.

This is almost a third of Linby's total population, according to the Office for National Statistics' latest data.

Ms Ireland added: "We already have lots of issues in the village when it comes to being able to cross the road."

In Hucknall, those fears are echoed by Chris Taylor, 50, who thinks it will add a lot of pressure on roads that are already busy.

"It's jam-packed with traffic already, I can't see what road improvements they can put in place to relieve any traffic, so that's a concern," he said.

Pauline Marybell, from Hucknall, is optimistic about the move

Pauline Marybell, who is in her 70s, said the council's move to Hucknall would be good for the community.

She hopes it will reverse the closure of high street businesses.

"It will bring the workers down to us, on their lunch hour, to spend money," she said.

Councillor Keith Girling, the council's cabinet member for economic development and asset management, said there had been an issue in responding to a report from Linby Parish Council, which he described as "unacceptable", adding it would be resolved.

He also said staff at the office would not all be arriving and leaving at rush-hour, with many out and about at various points of the day.

"We've been very robust in our assessment of the traffic to see what the impact would be," he said.