£280,000 Ada Lovelace House renovation completed

New office space is now available to entrepreneurs and businesses in Nottinghamshire – thanks to a £280,000 investment by Ashfield District Council and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

Formerly Ashfield Urban Council Offices, and more recently a police station, the building on Urban Road in the North Nottinghamshire town, is a well-known local landmark, named after Lord Byron’s daughter Ada Lovelace. The redevelopment of Ada Lovelace House has created 1,658 sq ft of space for start-up businesses and SMEs, after renovation works by local construction company, Robert Woodhead.

The £280,000 project was funded with £140,000 from Ashfield District Council and £140,000 from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Growth Fund allocation – used to fund infrastructure projects, which attract investment and create jobs across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire – as part of D2N2’s mission to create 55,000 new jobs in ten years (2013-2023). D2N2 money for the Ada Lovelace House redevelopment was agreed by the D2N2 Infrastructure and Investment Board.

Woodhead’s team leader, Mark Maisey, said: “We’re really pleased with the work we’ve done to bring this important local resource back into use. Taking a building in a state of disrepair and bringing it up to modern standards, fit to support local businesses grow is a very rewarding project to work on.

“We always aim to do as much as we can to support the local community while we’re working on site. With a huge skills gap looming over the construction industry, it’s so important that we do as much as we can to inspire the next generation of builders, I hope the young people that joined us on site have had a good taster of what our industry offers and will consider making construction a career in the future.”

Edd de Coverley, service director – place and communities for Ashfield District Council, added: “The redevelopment of Ada Lovelace House represents a fantastic addition to Kirkby town centre, and to the Ashfield district as a whole. The high-quality office space resulting from this project will help to encourage new business to locate right in the heart of the town – creating jobs and boosting the economy for the people of Kirkby and Ashfield.

“We are pleased that a number of businesses are already showing interest in the space, and look forward to welcoming these businesses to Ada Lovelace House in the next few months.”