The newly refurbished County Hall in Trowbridge has officially opened.
Stride Treglown was appointed by Wiltshire Council to transform a tired 1970s office extension to a 1930s County Hall building, into a substantial public services ‘hub’.
The building’s refurbishment is part of a radical programme which will save taxpayers’ £millions while improving access to services.
The 200,000 sq.ft space provides a modern open plan working environment for 1,500 Wiltshire Council employees. The £20m redevelopment includes a public library, café, restaurant and Registration Office and Ceremony Room, all accessed from an impressive atrium courtyard. The aim of the project was to design a building which unites with the older part of County Hall as well as being as green as possible.
The design provides a new public entrance, new vertical circulation and cantilevered meeting rooms to upper floors. The refurbishment will achieve a 40% reduction in energy use and carbon emissions, with a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating.
Stride Treglown has achieved a holistic integrated design with insulation upgrades to the walls and roof, windows replacement, and a comprehensive services overhaul.
Deep plan office areas have also been re-planned to maximise natural daylight with a central spine incorporating meeting rooms, refreshment areas and print/scan/copy facilities.
The scheme was undertaken as part of Wiltshire Council's Workplace Transformation Programme, creating flexible modern working environments for all staff, and supporting modern flexible working practices that will reduce the Council’s office portfolio from 98 buildings to 3 hubs.
Neil Ward, Wiltshire Council’s Head of Property Services, said: “County Hall represents the latest step on the Council’s journey to unlock savings of £85m over 25 years that enables the Council to focus its resources on delivering frontline services. The building now supports the Council’s ability to transform itself to continually meet the needs of its communities.”
Speaking at the official opening ceremony, Local Government Minister Baroness Hanham said: “Wiltshire Council has made significant progress with this and I am delighted to be able to see their innovative approach at first hand.
"As two thirds of all public sector assets are owned by councils, if they all followed this example it could potentially save billions of pounds, as well as making better use of public assets and improving services for local residents."
Phase 2 of the refurbishment has commenced and will see the complete internal refurbishment of the 1930’s Old County Hall including the Council Chamber and Committee rooms.
The aim is to provide the same quality of working environment as the completed phase whilst retaining period features. The final phase of work will see the Council’s Chippenham offices reconfigured to apply the same practices. This follows the Council’s move to extract itself from a PFI contract, in itself saving c£250,000 per annum.
The Council is similarly focusing investment on a revised model for accessing frontline services through multi-service community campuses.