First full Nottinghamshire County Council meeting was last Thursday. The photo shows our small Nottinghamshire Labour group now. It is very sad that we have lost so many hardworking experienced councillors (and members of group staff), particularly our previous leader Kate. It is also sad that so many enthusiastic candidates didn’t get elected. However, although we are small we are determined to be visible and available for people who need us; if you are anywhere in Nottinghamshire and want to talk to a Labour Councillor get in touch.
Anyway, this first meeting was calmer than many in the past without the Ashfield Independents there stirring things up. However the new leading group- Reform- were being extremely careful in what they said, and really didnt say anything at all. After the meeting I got emails from the leader of the group and the new Finance lead both offering to discuss any issues we want to talk about. Our primary goal is to do the best for all residents in Nottingham so I am grateful for that offer and will take it up when we need to. Although I am worried about some things that have been said by some of the group, I will judge their administration on their actions from here on, and try to persuade when we disagree. (I do have a question tonight, given what we have heard from the national leader of Reform today).
Although we are small we are determined to be active:
1. Liz brought a petition on speeding in her area
2. I brought a question on the Football/Events Traffic at Trent Bridge, so at least that issue has now been raised with the new administration
3. I brought a motion with John on retaining County Hall. That went really well with Reform voting against it but clearly being very sympathetic to the idea, and the Tories abstaining- weird given that it was their idea – and their expenditure- in the first place. I have pasted the text of my speech (with some annotation) below.
We were at Oak House – the new County Hall, for now. I went by bus and when I got there I was hopping mad as the whole place has been designed assuming that people drive (though a member of staff did come out to see me realising that I had had to go a long way to get in, which was kind of her). Going home I spoke to a young person whilst waiting for the bus and was shocked to learn how scared they were of central Nottingham.
Speech on County Hall
Madam Chair: you have already mentioned how impressed you were on entering County Hall (it was great that she was happy to be called Madam Chair as I had initially been told she wanted to be known as Madam Chairman as I would have struggled with that.. I have had an issue with pointlessly gendered language since I was about 15).
County Hall is a substantial, iconic building that belongs to every resident in Nottinghamshire. I think we would all assume that we don’t have the right to sell it off without very careful thought and consultation with those residents. However, the previous Tory administration made the decision to sell this building in less time and with less consultation than is required to install double yellow lines in my division.
Lots of money has been spent on County Hall in recent years, for instance removing asbestos, and upgrading IT. In fact, County Hall is an extremely well-appointed space. When I am not a councillor I work in a science lab which where we would give our eye teeth for a building with those IT facilities.
Nonetheless the upfront argument for closing County Hall is that it will cost £50M to upgrade it. But that figure has never been explained or justified or broken down. Later in the meeting the Tories mentioned figures of both £30M and £50M so I am not sure they know how they came up with the figure either.
I can make many suggestions how to save money and even make money from the building. Here are a few:
- Turning the heating down will make many parts of it more comfortable and reduce bills. Put in secondary double glazing. Reducing the ridiculous amount of space given over to some councillor offices will free up space for more useful purposes. Someone also suggested using the river for energy which has been done at Derbyshire County Council where the river is much smaller.
- The building is in an internationally renowned location with has thousands of visitors per month: surely it can be exploited to bring in revenue in many ways? What about a hotel, with conference facilities and co working space, which could also be used for civic functions and council meetings? What about a sports museum and associated café and restaurant as well as a civic space? I have learnt that previously the restaurant was open to the public and used for training young catering workers: why not bring back something like that, opening it during sporting events.
- I live a stone’s throw from County Hall but before my election to the County in 2021, I had only been in there once before, for a civic event in 1991- why isn’t it made more available to residents, for youth awards, weddings etc.
Oak house is vanity project from people who seem to know the cost of everything and value of nothing, and who proved over the last 4 years that they have no commercial nous whatsoever. After all, how can it be that Suffolk County Council is now making money from our Facilities Management (school dinners, meals on wheels, school cleaning etc).. Why couldn’t Notts County Council manage to make dinners for its own residents, using local produce and employing local staff? If Suffolk can do it surely Notts can do it!
But there are practical issues with Oak House too. First the council chamber isnt suitable as most of the time people are facing the wrong direction when they speak. It is not well connected by public transport, whereas County Hall has excellent links to most of County, even much of the north is better connected to County Hall than Oak House I am told. But not only is the bus service poor, but access from the bus stop is an insult! Furthermore, there is also not enough parking at Oak House.
In fact the transport is so poor, as I understand it, members of the previous administration who had been involved in the decision to close County Hall, had asked for offices in Trent Bridge House so they wouldn’t have to travel to Hucknall!! But staff will be expected to make this move.
As it is Oak House isnt big enough. The building was designed to replace the old MASH building that was extremely expensive to run, but I now understand that that now can’t be vacated if the Council moves to Oak House, so the old MASH building will have to be kept open. Keeping CH will not mean Nottinghamshire County Council abandoning Hucknall and Ashfield: Oak House is needed for public services as well as County Hall.
With County Hall closed there will not be enough desks for staff to come to work even a few days a week: how can people be expected to work together and feel like valued employees if we dont even given them their own working space.
To be clear: this is not about where Councillors sit to do their work. It is about the Council providing leadership for the whole County, about how all staff can work most efficiently and about residents having a place they can engage with to feel a sense of civic pride.
The Labour Party in Rushcliffe 