Nottinghamshire County Council’s low-carbon office near Hucknall will be the new home of two front-line council services.
This is part of a wider cost-cutting project to move more frontline council staff out of rented and expensive-to-run offices and into energy-efficient buildings located in areas where residents need services the most.
From late May onwards, the two key services always earmarked to be based at Oak House are due to move in. Both teams are currently based in a leased office space in Annesley, with more than £278,000 spent annually on running costs and rent.
The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), which helps safeguard vulnerable children and adults and acts as a single point of contact, will be one of the services relocating. MASH staff from the county council, police, health, probation services, and schools will continue to work together in the same office.
Commenting on how the move will ultimately benefit residents, MASH Operations Manager Merlin Tinker said:
“We look forward to this move from our current rented accommodation, as Oak House will provide a modern, flexible space for partner agencies to collaborate and will be close to the communities and families we serve.”
The council’s busy Customer Service Centre, which handles all public enquiries, will also be based at Oak House. The team deals with more than 750,000 queries a year, including those received via social media.
Nottinghamshire County Council Leader, Councillor Sam Smith, explained how Oak House was always planned with these two teams in mind. He said:
“We want to prioritise delivering vital services such as MASH and our Customer Service Centre, rather than just running expensive buildings, some of which we are paying rent for.
“This is why Oak House was always intended to be built for these services. Later down the line, it made financial sense to update these plans, before building work started, so that the decision-making function of this council could also be based in the very heart of our county.
“We are investing in the future. Oak House will see essential services based where they are most needed. And by reducing the number of council offices, we’re saving local taxpayers millions.
“We have a plan to make sure local services are more sustainable for local people, for the long term.”
Oak House’s low-carbon design will keep heating bills as low as possible and provide a fit-for-purpose environment. The all-electric building is constructed to standards that will rank it within the top 10% of new UK (non-domestic) buildings in terms of environmental sustainability.
The project is being designed, project-managed, and cost-managed by Arc Partnership and delivered through Arc’s construction partner, Morgan Sindall Construction.
The development is also bringing jobs, new skills, and a boost to the local supply chain, with the majority of local spend on sub-contractors and tradespeople located within 20 miles of the site.
Family-run Oakfield Construction, based in Eastwood, gained several months of work thanks to the project. Carl Tyson, Project Manager at the firm, said:
“We were involved in this project for around seven months, and as a result, we were able to bring on a new machine driver. Two of our apprentices also gained experience working on the site.
“During this time, we completed the footings, drainage, ducting, footpaths, edgings, and various other aspects of the project. We are proud to have contributed to such an important local scheme.”
Hucknall-based R&R Joinery Services Limited is another company to have benefited from a contract, installing all internal joinery in the building.
Richard Allen, Managing Director, said:
“We were delighted to work on this project. Our work involved the installation of all internal joinery, including fire-rated doors, kitchenette tea points, and final fixtures and equipment.
“Our two owners were born and raised in Hucknall, so the opportunity to be part of this project, providing a great new workspace for Nottinghamshire County Council, has been fantastic.
“This project is our first with Morgan Sindall, which has expanded our client base and will allow us to grow and take on an apprentice.”
A former Nottingham Trent University student, Luke Melville, has been working as a graduate site manager for Morgan Sindall Construction at the site. This is his second stint working on a county council-funded construction project and is continuing to help him gain more experience, boosting his skills and career prospects. Luke explained how the size and scale of the Oak House building are helping him to progress.
He said:
“The complexity of the building, with it being three floors, and the prestige of it being a new council office, has been massively beneficial to me. It’s another step up the career ladder working on this site.”
