By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottingham City Council is planning on vacating two floors at its Loxley House HQ as part of budget proposals to fill a £32m black hole.
But the Labour-run authority says it is yet to decide which floors would be affected and where staff would be moved.
Budget proposals, which were approved by councillors on Tuesday, December 20, will save the authority up to £29m in 2023/24.
They include cutting 110 full-time equivalent job roles, reviewing fees for parking, leisure centres and cafés, as well as increasing tariffs for Enviroenergy customers and hiking council tax by five per cent.
The council also says two floors at its Loxley House headquarters, in Station Street, will be temporarily shut and maintained for potential future use in a bid to save operating costs.
During the same meeting of senior councillors, it was revealed the council’s energy bills will cost an additional £3.6m.
Of the mothballing proposals, a City Council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “This proposal is in line with the prudent approach being undertaken by many other councils and private sector occupiers of office space, in response to new working models since the pandemic.
“It would involve vacating two floors of a building that is underutilised at present due to the increase in hybrid working among council staff, and so prevent us incurring unnecessary facilities management costs.
“The detail of which floors will be vacated and what staff movements this would necessitate is yet to be decided, but this proposal does not involve moving anybody out of Loxley House.
“It is an interim measure while we are in the process of reconsidering our office requirements, but there is no detailed time-frame at the moment.”
The proposals have also outlined the axing of the Shopmobility service at the Victoria Centre, as well as reviewing grants for community centres and stopping bin collections if they have been put out on the wrong day.
An additional £3.2m of savings must be sought by February, and a public consultation on some of the proposals was launched on December 20, lasting until January.
