Call to turn council HQ into concert arena

Transforming a council headquarters into a concert venue and conference centre would "put Norwich on the map", a councillor has said.

Labour's Steve Morphew suggested changes to local government could leave Norfolk County Council's main building empty – and repurposing it would provide "a huge potential economic boost" by drawing more visitors to the area.

The Conservative deputy council leader Andrew Jamieson rejected the idea as "absurd", arguing the site would still be needed.

But music journalist and blogger Cerys Hubbard said Norwich "definitely needed" a larger venue than it currently has.

Built on the outskirts of the city in 1968, County Hall is primarily home to the county council – but also hosts other organisations including some NHS services.

Morphew - who leads the authority's Labour group - argued that, should a shake-up of local government go-ahead, services would likely be relocated to other buildings.

He said a regional mayor – which Norfolk and Suffolk are set to get next year – could attract the investment needed for such a major project.

He called for County Hall – and the land around it – to be redeveloped into a conference centre with space "for thousands".

"There's no other place in the east of England which has an arena or concert centre that can hold international or national scale conferences and exhibitions,"

"It's a huge potential economic boost and would put Norwich on the map."

Jamieson, who is responsible for finance at the council, said the plan was "madcap" and "absurd".

"Whatever happens to local government, I'm sure that we'll need a place that will be used to deliver essential services and I'm pretty sure that county hall will be used for that.

"We do need to have a conference centre. I just don't think this is the place for it.

"We've got a whole range of public sector bodies using this venue, not just the council - the NHS and so forth," he added.

Whilst Norwich's Carrow Road football stadium has hosted some major gigs – the likes of Elton John, Take That and The Killers have played in recent years – it lacks an arena for shows.

Music journalist Cerys Hubbard said whilst existing venues such as the University of East Anglia's LCR, Norwich Arts Centre and The Waterfront were "great", they were relatively small.

"To bring bigger acts to Norwich, there needs to be a decent-sized venue.

"We have to go down to London to see big acts.

"You're then having to spend more money on train tickets, petrol, hotels.

"I just think it makes more sense to build something in the east of England, for the wider area."

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