Virginia Woolf The brutalist design of Nelson’s Civic House was much maligned in the meeting which furthered the proposal to refurbish it, with councillor Brian McGurk saying “it’s an ugly building, but it’s our ugly building”. Nelson’s Civic House refurbishment has moved onto the next stage, after the council received the business case and rehashed old debates. The business case identified several issues with the existing building which would be addressed in the refurbishment, including the location of the chamber, the perception of understaffing at the customer service desk, and deferred maintenance. The budget for the work is $16 million, or $18m taking into account inflation.