Mansfield Old Town Hall project up for trio of awards

The £1.4 million scheme, which has seen the Grade II-listed building transformed into office and retail space, has reached the finals of the East Midlands Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards where it has been shortlisted in three categories – Best Change of Use of an Existing Building, Best Public Service or Educational Building, and Best Small Commercial Project.Winners will be announced on August 27, although there will be no awards ceremony this year due to COVID-19 safety measures.Coun Stuart Richardson, portfolio holder for regeneration and growth, said: “This is wonderful news and well deserved.“The old Town Hall has undergone an amazing transformation.

“The council architects have managed to achieve a wonderful blend of the old with the new on the interior of one of Mansfield’s most significant buildings.

“We hope this will breathe new life into this historic jewel in Mansfield's crown after laying unused and largely unusable for more than 30 years.

“We were hoping to reopen it in the spring and then the coronavirus lockdown happened, so now we are hoping to open it just as soon as we possibly can.”

The flagship refurbishment scheme was started in 2018 and is a major strand in the council regeneration strategy for the town centre and it is hoped it will create up to 20 new employment opportunities.

The council’s town centre management team is due to be relocated at the old Town Hall from its current base in Clumber Street in August.The council contributed £775,000 towards the scheme with £700,000 delivered by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership as part of its £7.63 million N2 town centres programme.