'Huge opportunities’ for County Hall property if Nottinghamshire Council decided to sell up and leave

Coun Ben Bradley, Conservative member for Mansfield North and Mansfield MP, also said there would be ‘huge opportunities” for the property if the authority was to sell it.

It follows a review of the council estate commissioned amid changing working patterns fuelled by the pandemic.

The review includes potential plans to sell off or leave parts of the West Bridgford site amid concerns the building could cost tens of millions of pounds to refurbish.

In July, the council gave planning consent to its £15.7 million flagship office building on the Top Wighay development, near Linby, fuelling speculation the new site could become its new headquarters.

This was played down at the time, with senior councillors saying they will wait for the outcome of the review before making any decisions on County Hall.

Now Coun Bradley has confirmed a scrutiny committee is set to discuss the review, but said he does not know what the outcome will be and confirmed staff members will be consulted before any changes.

He said: “I’ve been clear for a long time that the cost of this building is very, very high – in terms of both the maintenance and future requirements, which run into the millions each year.

“We will have to change something. Whatever happens or is announced, we will need to manage those conversations with staff and ensure they understand the implications.

“We will always have a West Bridgford base and will never displace staff to somewhere else, but we do have other buildings around the county that may be more suitable.”

When asked if the building could be sold, he said: “You can imagine, in the future, sitting out on the river with a bar and a restaurant, it would be beautiful.

“It’s all speculation, but there are huge opportunities with this building and something will have to change – we can’t afford to maintain all of it.”

The review has led to opposition leaders saying plans to sell County Hall were the “worst-kept secret” in Nottinghamshire.

County Hall houses the main council debating chamber as well as officers for staff and councillors and was purpose-built in the 1930s.