Morgan Sindall marks ongoing success of County Council office with Topping Out Ceremony
Morgan Sindall Construction has celebrated a significant milestone in the delivery of Nottinghamshire County Council’s new low carbon, all-electric office after topping out the three-storey steel frame building.
On track for completion in early 2025, the new office will house the council’s civic, democratic, and leadership functions. It will also be the new home to two key front-line services – the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for vulnerable children and adults, and its Customer Service Centre, which handles all public enquiries.
Located along the A611 Annesley Road near Hucknall, the office has been named Oak House – a nod to Nottinghamshire County Council’s logo and local historical landmark, the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest.
Designed, project, and cost-managed by Arc Partnership, a joint venture between SCAPE and Nottinghamshire County Council, the office will provide long-term savings for taxpayers while operating in an environmentally friendly manner and is part of a wider initiative to move more front-line council services into cost-effective, energy saving buildings.
The building’s low carbon design includes high insulation levels and heat absorbing features, helping the Council meet their net zero targets by keeping the building’s heating costs as low as possible. This design will also help to keep the building cool during warmer months, eliminating the need for air-conditioning and further reducing costs. Rooftop solar panels will generate electricity for the site, allowing the Council to invest in green energy sources.
The office is located on council-owned, mixed-use land that has been earmarked for development for more than a decade. The wider site is planned to be regenerated into a new community which will include 805 much-needed new homes, led by Vistry Partnerships. Construction of a new section of road and roundabout within the site, which began September 2023, has also been completed recently.
Further to this, a local spend target of 86% has been set for the project and associated infrastructure works. This will see subcontractors and tradespeople located within 20 miles of the site used, helping benefit the local economy.
Council Leader, Councillor Ben Bradley, said:
It’s exciting to see how much this new building has come on in just a few months. Not only will it be the home of some of our front-line services and the place where all council decisions are made, it is an investment which will help bring jobs, skills and more investment into the Hucknall area. It’s all part of our wider plan to prioritise delivering services rather than just running expensive buildings, which is why we are reducing the number of council offices from 17 to nine.”
Councillor Keith Girling, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management, said:
Developing key infrastructure like Council offices is fundamental to what Morgan Sindall does, helping local authorities across the country to improve their estates’ energy efficiency and green credentials.
Through the delivery of Oak House, local small and medium-sized businesses are already benefiting thanks to the prioritisation of a local supply chain, which is great news for Nottinghamshire’s economy. We’re looking forward to continuing to make progress on site and carrying out the next steps of the build.”
A former Nottingham Trent University student, Luke Meville, is now working as a graduate site manager for Morgan Sindall Construction at Oak House.
This is his second time working on a county council-funded construction project, continuing to help him gain more experience in the sector, boosting his skills and prospective career. Luke was an assistant site manager when he worked on the new school building at Millside Spencer Academy in East Leake.
Luke explained how the size and scale of the Oak House building is helping him to progress. He said:
The complexity of the building, with it being three floors, and the prestige of the project being a new council office has been massively beneficial to me. It's another exciting step up the career ladder working on this site and I’m proud to have contributed to the progress we’ve made so far."
Dan Maher, Managing Director for Arc Partnership, added:
It is fantastic to see such an important milestone reached for Oak House – a flagship project bringing socio-economic value and frontline services to the local area.
Working on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council, Arc Partnership has led on the delivery of this project, providing expert design, cost, and project management services. collaborating closely with Morgan Sindall and the County Council to ensure high-quality outputs at every stage of the project, while creating real value that ultimately benefits the future school community, Nottinghamshire County Council, and the local community.”
For illustrative videos to show what the new office will look like, visit: https://youtu.be/sJz8TJrO_kU
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