Work to create Memorial Square and new facilities to go ahead after plans approved for Northumberland's County Hall

The planning application, which is the latest in the overall multimillion-pound refurbishment of the authority’s HQ, was unanimously approved at a meeting of the Castle Morpeth Local Area Council on March 9.

The proposals passed with little fuss given that the scheme at County Hall had attracted no objections and only had to go before the committee for approval as it is the council’s own plan.

It involves the refurbishment and extension of the existing reception, café and offices at County Hall to provide enhanced public facilities, a meeting suite and leadership offices.

The publicly accessible reception area would be expanded to offer more facilities, with an archive area, exhibition space and seating for informal meetings.

Outside, a new layout for the car park would create additional spaces, with a new covered walkway built from the disabled spaces to the new entrance. The existing walled parking area and canopy would be removed.

A Memorial Square will be created with the existing war memorial moved to the centre of this area and the existing Viking statue relocated onto a new plinth. There would also be new paths, planting and seating.

The planning officer’s report to councillors explained that the application ‘relates to proposed alterations considered as being necessary so as to improve the function of the building as offices for Northumberland County Council while also to improve the visual amenity of the site’.

The county council’s cabinet agreed the first stage of the overall County Hall project – £2.7million to repair and upgrade the external fabric of the building – in February 2018.

In November that year, members agreed the next phase, totalling £4million, for the ongoing work to the back-of-house office areas used by staff on a day-to-day basis, as well as the front-of-house changes agreed here.

The latest council budget, approved last month, includes another £11.85million for works over the next three years.