Nottingham council’s security costs jump to £1.3m after spate of Guildhall fires

The Grade II-listed site has been empty since 2010

Repeated break-ins and arson attacks at the empty Nottingham Guildhall means the city council is now having to spend extra money on security. The Grade II-listed site is listed among sites the council is hiring in extra protection for.

The authority is increasing a budget for security staff spending from £950,000 to £1.3 million due to an increasing need to protect locations prone to “anti-social behaviour, theft and vandalism”. Nottingham’s Grade II listed Guildhall, built in 1887, has been described as among sites difficult to manage, alongside the wider Broadmarsh.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service attended nine incidents at the Guildhall in the space of six weeks between May and July this year, prompting a review of security at the site. The council says it only has enough staff to cover 3,500 hours per month, while the required number of hours is currently 8,000.

To protect the Guildhall – and other sites such as the Broadmarsh – another 4,500 hours are needed from an external company on an ad-hoc (when needed) basis. Councillors approved the extra spend during a Commissioning and Procurement Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday (October 15).

Cllr Linda Woodings (Lab), executive member for finance and chair of the committee, said: “In essence we have our own internal security team, but for ad-hoc security roles and positions we have [providers] that we call upon if we need them. So this is buildings like the Guildhall, Broadmarsh, where we’ve had to supply security staff to them, and an increase in the budget with their additional responsibilities.”

The Guildhall, on Burton Street, and the surrounding site was due to be sold to property company Miller Birch, which had plans to convert the site into a four-star hotel. It also planned to demolish the former police and fire headquarters in Shakespeare Street and build student accommodation in its place.

But in January 2023 the police and fire HQ was awarded Grade II listed status on the recommendation of Historic England and Nottingham Civic Society. All plans for the site, including the Guildhall, were shelved.

In February the council confirmed revised terms have been agreed with a purchaser, owing to the reduced development potential of the site. During the meeting it was confirmed security personnel will only be employed temporarily, until buildings like the Guildhall are sold and the Broadmarsh is more widely redeveloped.

Once a magistrates’ court and formerly home to a police station and city archives, the Guildhall has been empty since 2010.