Updated: Nottinghamshire County Council moves to explain benefits of £15.7m council office building at Top Wighay Farm following Hucknall Councillors' official objection

Nottinghamshire County Council has moved to clarify the purpose and benefits of the new £15.7million office building due to be built at Top Wighay Farm which is on the border of Linby and Hucknall.

In a statement, Matthew Neal, investment director at the County Council said: "As part of the statutory planning process, we've welcomed feedback on proposals from partners and the community for the new office building at Top Wighay.

"This is due to house front-line services such as social services, which are currently based in leased office space which we are paying out for in rent.

"It also plans to provide new, flexible workspace and accommodation for small and medium-sized businesses as a further way to help boost the economy."

This comes after Hucknall's County Councillors, Dave Shaw, Lee Waters and John Wilmott who represent Hucknall West, North and South, on Nottinghamshire County Council for the Ashfield Independents, confirmed they had submitted an official objection to plans to build the office block on the outskirts of the town.

In April, Nottinghamshire County Council announced that it had selected Vistry Partnerships as the developer for the Top Wighay development which is set to include 805 houses and a primary school as well as the offices. It was described as the biggest development project the Council has ever undertaken or invested in.

However, Hucknall's councillors in their joint objection claim that the application is "…clouded in uncertainty" and further said that "It's impossible to assess the impact on highways – due to the County Council still not being able to tell us how many staff and indeed services which will be moving there."

Speaking on behalf of all three councillors, Councillor Lee Waters said: "We've exhausted the political arguments. We said that the £15.7million should be spent fixing our broken roads and pavements. The Conservatives at County Hall would rather spend the money on an expensive office block we don't need. 

"Due to rising inflation, this £15.7m could well go over budget and go over the £20million mark. We now have the unedifying situation where Conservatives at County Hall ask themselves for planning permission. They've even restricted the consultation to an electronic one meaning many impacted in Hucknall won't even get the chance to object despite massive concerns.

"Despite several attempts to find out – the County Council are still no clearer how many staff and departments will be moving to the new office. There's no evidence on any discussion with Trade Unions and yet they claim the impact on highways in Hucknall will be minimal. 

"We've been against this office block we don't need from day one. It's too far away from Hucknall Railway Station and there are no plans to improve public transport in the application at all. We will be making these and our other objections at a future Planning and Rights of Way Committee. Hucknall deserves better than guess work in what many view as an expensive done deal."

Mr Neal added: "We've had a range of comments from wider local community, which we are currently in discussions about and looking into as part of the usual planning consultation process.  

"Our planning and rights of way committee is due to make a final decision on planning permission for the new offices in the coming weeks.

"We appreciate there are concerns about the potential impact on traffic, so as part of any infrastructure project, our transport and highways teams will continue look at any long-term impact and continue to monitor the safety of our highways.

"Footpaths, cycling routes, cycle lockers and traffic calming measures are at the heart of plans and the site is already near to an existing bus route, with new bus stops proposed.

"Completed infrastructure work at the site includes an expanded roundabout on the A611/Annesley Road, a new signal-controlled junction as well as a new, three-metre wide, shared use footway/cycle lane along the northern side of the A611 north of Hucknall and to the west of Linby. This work has already helped limit the impact of traffic on nearby towns and villages."

Conservative Councillor Keith Girling, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Asset Management said: "I find it incredulous that in public the Ashfield Independents protest about the application yet do not mention this in their official response.

"The Council (Ashfield District Council) raises no objection to the proposed development in principle, and is pleased to see features being installed to encourage the use of more sustainable modes of transport.

"This is all part of our wider plan to bring long-term savings for taxpayers by creating more carbon-neutral, fit for purpose council buildings, generating income by leasing space within buildings, and co-locating with other public organisations.

"We've reduced our estate by almost half and the overall impact of this is that it will save money, not cost money.

"We have made a clear pledge to help meet the UK's carbon-neutral targets by 2030 so it's vital we invest now to make our buildings more energy-efficient, such the site (at) Top Wighay, which aims to be as carbon- neutral as possible."