Council workers say they were left to walk 10 minutes just to use toilet facilities after ongoing maintenance problems at County Hall in West Bridgford.
The iconic County Hall, sitting by the River Trent in West Bridgford, has been the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Council since the 1940s.
Nottinghamshire Conservatives have been calling for the sale of the ageing site over the past few years, choosing to vacate County Hall when the group were in power and move into its purpose-built £19 million Oak House building near Hucknall and Linby in March 2025.
Their most recent attempt to bring the topic back up for discussion was in Reform’s first budget-setting meeting in February, where the Tories said the flogging of the “ageing” estate – which carries “significant” running, compliance and maintenance costs – could bring in around £20 million for the authority.
It has been previously estimated that the cost for essential repairs to County Hall over 12 years is around £30 million, but a further £28 million investment would be needed to bring it up to modern environmental standards.
Reform ultimately reversed the decision for a complete Oak House move after it won the local elections in May 2025 – democratic functions are currently held across both locations.
Vital upgrade works to the building totalling nearly £500,000 were announced by Reform in October 2025, including £37,000 to ensure the building’s toilets worked properly, £45,000 to go towards main water tank works and £50,000 towards sewage works.
It appears some of the maintenance problems have been playing out this winter, with council members and staff saying they had to walk 10 minutes from the site just to use the toilet facilities last Thursday, March 5.
Nottinghamshire County Council said the toilet facilities would be fully operational again from the week commencing Monday, March 9.
Water pressure issues on site have recently restricted the water tank’s filling, meaning toilets in the building have recently had to close temporarily, including an incident on February 24.
Conservative councillor Mike Adams said some of the Conservative team were having to work from home because they “couldn’t rely on the site being operational”.
Council members and staff were having to walk 10 minutes to the nearby Trent Bridge House just to use toilet facilities.
Cllr Adams continued: “These [incidents] prove the Conservatives’ case. We made the decision to move to a brand new facility [Oak House], where everyone can work without having to go home because the toilets aren’t working.
“We recognised County Hall is a very ageing structure, sewage pipes, water pipes – we took that decision so people could continue to work.
“It’s a calamity. It’s an absolute joke people can’t go to the toilet.”
Cllr Adams said this was not the only operational issue the site had faced this winter, where boiler problems had left people “freezing” at points and one incident of sewage “coming down the walls” in a downstairs council office.
A Nottinghamshire County Council spokesperson said: “There have been water pressure issues which have restricted the water tank filling at County Hall.
“These issues are now largely resolved, and so toilets will be fully operational [the week commencing March 9].
“Given the council’s decision to remain at County Hall, there are a variety of maintenance projects being completed to help ensure the building doesn’t encounter operational issues.”
