Nottinghamshire County Council could move out of historic base

County Hall in West Bridgford is said to need about £50m to bring it up to modern standards

At least part of a council building could be sold amid plans to relocate some of the authority's operations to a new site.

Conservative-led Nottinghamshire County Council has now finished a cross-party review on the future of its West Bridgford base.

It has permission for a new £15.7m site at Top Wighay near Hucknall.

The council will discuss the review on 24 January, with a final decision due in March.

The building was designed in the 1930s but delays due to World War Two meant it did not open until 1954.

The authority has forecast it would cost about £50m over 10 years to bring the building up to modern standards.

Analysis

By Tony Roe, BBC East Midlands Today political editor

Civic buildings in the 19th and 20th centuries were suitably grand architectural statements expressing local pride. There was probably a bit of local rivalry going on too between county and city over who had the most prestigious structure.

County Hall in Nottinghamshire is one such building with a prominent riverside location looking across the river to the city on the other side. A suitable symbol of grandeur showing off in the face of the city. When it opened those who first worked there recalled the gleaming copper roof, which eventually weathered and turned green.

The council had moved from Shire Hall in Nottingham's Lace Market, now the National Justice Museum. It had shared the building with the courts since the authority was created in 1888. But civic pride and shortage of space led to a bolder building of its own.

Some of the additional offices added on to County Hall over the years have since been demolished. Councils don't need so much space and the pandemic has emphasised that point as more people work from home.

Councils don't stay put in one place forever. They can save money by moving especially if they leave behind a valuable site.

Councillor Keith Girling told the BBC any future use for County Hall needed to fit a business plan

Councillor Keith Girling, the cabinet member responsible for the future of the site, said moving out of County Hall made sense for future planning.

But he denied the council was "selling off the family silver".

"It's costing us about £5m a year just to keep it going and we've done a survey and it's going to cost us around £50m over the next 10 years," he said.

"But we're not after getting rid of such a landmark building as it is. We're looking at making sure the use of it is fit for purpose.

"We're open to suggestions but if I had my way, I'd have it as luxury apartments and some lovely bars and restaurants on the ground floor. But we need to make sure the business plan fits."

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Labour councillor Kate Foale, the group leader, said: "We now have a situation where Conservative county councillors are looking to sell off Nottinghamshire residents' historic public buildings and local spaces.

"[This is] in order to bail out a government which has plunged public services into crisis by trying to deliver on the cheap."