THE next phase of the £17m refurbishment of County Hall was approved this week.

It was agreed at the Northumberland County Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday that just under £4m will be spent on carrying out internal remodelling and refurbishment work at the council’s headquarters in Morpeth.

It will be part of an overall £17m project agreed by the Conservative administration last May. The previous Labour administration had planned to move County Hall from its current base to Ashington.

The first phase of the project is well under way with work to repair and upgrade the exterior of the building, at a cost of £2.7m, started in February.

The new work will see office areas, toilets and staff kitchens improved, as well as the ‘front-of-house’ areas such as the main reception, meeting room and restaurant.

Leader of the county council, Peter Jackson, said: “We want to make the building fit for purpose. We want to make it cheaper to run and we want to use it more effectively by using some of the vast amounts of space which are available.

“We are pleased with the progress so far. It’s a major project and we just want to push on and get it finished as quickly as possible.”

The agreed phase of refurbishment is expected to start in March, and is estimated to be finished in April 2020.