Norfolk council to make £800k with County Hall lease deal

The Conservative-controlled council has agreed a five-year lease for the eighth floor of its headquarters at Martineau Lane in Norwich to be used by the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board.

The board has been using that floor, which the council had no use for after many of its staff switched to hybrid working during and after the coronavirus pandemic, since August 2022.

And the council has agreed a new lease to replace the current arrangements, with the board paying the council £800,000 over the five-year period.

Jane James, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for corporate services and innovation (Image: Emily Thomson)

The decision to agree the new lease was made by Jane James, the council's cabinet member for corporate services and innovation, using delegated powers.

The council says the deal also allows closer working between its adult social care department and the NHS.

The rent, of £160,000 a year, has been calculated at £1,000 per desk space - the same deal agreed with the lease of two other floors at County Hall to Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

The council said County Hall could only be let to public sector partners, and could not be let on the open market.

County Hall in Norwich (Image: Mike Page)

The income will come in useful at a time when the county council needs to make £45m of cuts and savings to balance its books.

The authority has outlined £33m of proposals towards that target, which includes switching off a thousand more Norfolk street lights and increasing the share of council tax which goes to County Hall.

Norwich City Council recently revealed it was considering the future for its City Hall headquarters.

The Labour-run council, which needs to make more than £9.5m in cuts and savings, is mulling over the possibility of building a new hotel at the rear of the Grade II* listed building.