Norwich City Council to spend £750,000 on hotel bid designs

Norwich City Council plans to spend a huge sum on putting together designs for the site, which is set to be developed for commercial use.

The proposals would see the Grade II* listed building extended to house a new courtyard and hotel complex or flats, with a view to raise funds for the cash-strapped authority.

Despite financial pressures, officials at the Labour-run council are seeking to spend £750,000 on drawing up plans and developing a rationale for the scheme. 

Norwich City Hall (Image: Newsquest) WHAT ARE THE PROPOSALS? 

City Hall has been the seat of local government in Norwich since its completion in 1938.

The council says the layout of the building is "outdated and inefficient", with only 43pc used as workspace and the rest reserved for meetings and storage. 

While the authority has stressed that its activities will remain based at City Hall, the new proposals would see the building extended to the rear for office, hotel, or residential use along with a public courtyard. 

The rear of City Hall pictured in 2005 (Image: Mike Page) The space behind City Hall used to be a car park, with police storage facilities underneath, but it was demolished a number of years ago after faults were found with the structure.

It is now used for storing police vehicles and to house the temporary buildings the police are occupying while Bethel Street police station is refurbished. 

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Mike Stonard, leader of the council (Image: Newsquest) Mike Stonard, leader of Norwich City Council, said: "Our stunning building has so much to love, and we need to not only make sure it’s fit for the future but make the most of our cherished asset for the city.

"We are in the early stages of that journey and now have some viable options we can consider taking to the next stage of exploration and design."

City Hall has been considered for such a development several times over the years, as the council promoted the building at international property events, but this has never come to fruition. 

WHAT IS MONEY BEING SPENT ON? 

Officials at Norwich City Council have proposed to members that £750,000 be used to cover professional fees related to the scheme. 

This will include the development of designs and an outline business case, which will set out the rationale behind the project. 

Some councillors have raised concerns about the large sum set to be assigned to the project and questioned how this will be used. 

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Lucy Galvin, leader of the Green group (Image: Denise Bradley) Lucy Galvin, leader of the Green group at the council, said: "City hall is an iconic building which belongs to the people. The plans and costs for it need to be carefully looked at, the citizens of Norwich to be fully involved, and the building to be made properly accessible.

"It's been left partially empty with scant community use and doors too often locked for far too long by the Labour administration. Paying external consultants vast sums may not really be the answer especially if it remains unclear to the public how and when they can input.

"We need to know who has been asked about these plans so far and what their engagement is, and how the £750,000 would be spent to guarantee a robust future for a building our city can be proud of."

FINANCIAL PRESSURES

Norwich City Hall could be turned into a hotel under new proposals (Image: Mike Page) The authority is facing significant financial pressures and previously warned that it needs to make more than £9.5m in savings to plug a future gap in funds over the next five years.

Council officers said that while the authority continues to face financial challenges, blamed on a "sustained period of austerity" and increased demand for services, its ambition remains "undiminished".

Mr Stonard said the strategic outline case for the City Hall project had identified the potential for up to £102m in economic benefits.