By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Mansfield District Council has approved improvements to the town’s historic Old Town Hall so it can fly ceremonial flags.
The authority will upgrade the loft area of the Grade-II building by installing a new hatch, with a ladder to be used to access the loft space for wider maintenance to the top of the building.
The new hatch and ladder will also be used to fly “appropriate flags” from the top of the Old Town Hall for civic purposes, with the council stating the current loft access means this “cannot be achieved”.
The works were approved by the council’s planning department on Friday, March 25.
A heritage statement submitted by the authority said: “As the Town Hall is a civic building. there is an expectation that appropriate flags will be flown to mark specific civic occasions.
“This needs to be undertaken on a regular basis and safe access/egress is required which cannot be achieved with the current access hatch location.
“Additionally, access is required to enable maintenance works to be undertaken within the loft space as appropriate.
“It is therefore proposed to install a new access hatch with integral concertina ladder, whilst carrying out relevant structural upgrades to timber ceiling structure to accommodate this, to repair and extend roof void walkways and install appropriate guardrails.”
It follows a series of wider improvement works to the 185-year-old building, with the authority bringing it back into use for the first time in three decades.
The works, which cost £1.4 million to deliver, opened up the historic space to allow traders and businesses to work from inside the building.
The council has confirmed new traders within the site include a make-up studio and beauty training business, an independent gifts business and a wedding and alterations seamstress.
Mansfield District Council’s town centre management team and Halo Recruitment are also based inside the building.
And two exterior units of the building have also been filled by a menswear store and a hair boutique business.
Andy Abrahams (Lab), the town’s elected mayor, previously said: “It’s great that the Old Town Hall, one of Mansfield’s most significant buildings, is attracting new businesses to the town centre after laying unused and largely unusable for more than 30 years.
“The building has undergone an amazing interior transformation with an effective blend of the old with the new.”
The wider improvements include three retail units in a shared space on the ground floor, two fully-refurbished offices on the first and second floors, the two exterior units and the renovation of the old council chamber for functions.
No significant changes were made to the outside of the building, with the council stating it wanted to “preserve the historic character of the property”.
The £1.4 million scheme was funded in part by the council, which spent £775,000 on the project, with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership contributing the remaining £700,000.
