UK
Ireland
Scotland
London
Construction News
12/02/2009
£165m Boost For Town Hall Complex
.gif)
Plans for a major refurbishment of Manchester's town hall complex, improving services to the public and investing in key civic buildings and spaces, have been given the go-ahead.
Manchester City Council's top-level Executive approved proposals for a project lasting up to five years. At its heart are the goals of maintaining the historic complex for future generations while enabling the buildings to deliver state-of-the-art services.
The Town Hall Extension, Central Library and St Peter's Square will all benefit from the programme, scheduled to start this year and run until 2014. It is estimated the work will cost up to £165 million which will be partly offset by other savings.
One important aspect of the plans is the creation of a new Customer Service Centre on the ground floor of the Town Hall Extension. This would bring together a number of key services in a welcoming environment and enable visitors to resolve different enquiries in a single visit. For example a resident could pay their Council Tax, check out their housing benefit entitlement and borrow a book from a new family and community library.
The new family and community library, which it is proposed to call City Library, will also be created on the ground floor alongside the Town Hall Extension. This follows the success of similar community libraries elsewhere in the city, for example North City Library in Harpurhey, which combine library facilities with other council services.
The refurbishment will create more desk spaces in the Town Hall Extension as office space is used more effectively, enabling the Council to vacate office space elsewhere in the city.
Councillor Bernard Priest, Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources, said: "Manchester has arguably the finest civic complex of any British city outside London. This refurbishment programme is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to upgrade the services offered from these buildings and radically improve the experience of people using them. It will also enable us to enhance the public spaces in which these internationally significant buildings are set."
(CD/JM)
Manchester City Council's top-level Executive approved proposals for a project lasting up to five years. At its heart are the goals of maintaining the historic complex for future generations while enabling the buildings to deliver state-of-the-art services.
The Town Hall Extension, Central Library and St Peter's Square will all benefit from the programme, scheduled to start this year and run until 2014. It is estimated the work will cost up to £165 million which will be partly offset by other savings.
One important aspect of the plans is the creation of a new Customer Service Centre on the ground floor of the Town Hall Extension. This would bring together a number of key services in a welcoming environment and enable visitors to resolve different enquiries in a single visit. For example a resident could pay their Council Tax, check out their housing benefit entitlement and borrow a book from a new family and community library.
-- Advertisement --
The new family and community library, which it is proposed to call City Library, will also be created on the ground floor alongside the Town Hall Extension. This follows the success of similar community libraries elsewhere in the city, for example North City Library in Harpurhey, which combine library facilities with other council services.
The refurbishment will create more desk spaces in the Town Hall Extension as office space is used more effectively, enabling the Council to vacate office space elsewhere in the city.
Councillor Bernard Priest, Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources, said: "Manchester has arguably the finest civic complex of any British city outside London. This refurbishment programme is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to upgrade the services offered from these buildings and radically improve the experience of people using them. It will also enable us to enhance the public spaces in which these internationally significant buildings are set."
(CD/JM)
Latest Construction News
29/01/2025
Caddick Construction has been awarded a £43 million contract to deliver the first phase of Cole Waterhouse's flagship regeneration scheme in Digbeth, Birmingham.
The project, known as Upper Trinity Street, marks a significant step in the area’s transformation.
Spanning 182,986 square feet, the re
29/01/2025
McLaren Construction has been appointed by O&H Properties to deliver the first phase of a £60 million Foster & Partners-designed development at the corner of New Bond Street and Grafton Street in London’s West End.
The seven-storey, 5,400 square metre prime retail and office scheme will feature ret
29/01/2025
GMI Construction Group has been awarded a contract to develop three high-specification warehouse units totalling over 175,000 square feet at Precedent Drive, Milton Keynes.
The £20 million project, commissioned by DV5 Last Mile Developments (UK) Ltd, a joint venture between Coltham and Delancey Re
29/01/2025
Plans for 106 sustainable new homes in Southville, a neighbourhood in South Bristol, have been approved as the city seeks to increase housing delivery to address growing demand.
Top 10 award-winning housebuilder The Hill Group will create a £60 million development on Raleigh Road, on land that was
29/01/2025
Bouygues UK has reached a major milestone in the fourth phase of the Hallsville Quarter regeneration project in Canning Town, London.
The project, part of the £3.7 billion Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration Programme, recently held a topping out ceremony, marking the completion of the 11-s
29/01/2025
Willmott Dixon Interiors is carrying out a significant upgrade to the roof of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, one of London's most iconic cultural landmarks.
As part of the £12 million project, the company is installing over 23,000 square feet of sun-protected glazing above the museum’s
29/01/2025
Equans has been appointed by Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils to carry out crucial decarbonisation work across the councils' housing stock, using funding secured through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).
The councils used the South East Consortium's Zero Carbon Framework to s
29/01/2025
In the world of construction, the quest for energy efficiency and sustainability is ever-evolving. Among the array of solutions available, EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) insulation stands out as a versatile and effective option for enhancing the thermal performance of buildings, particularly when used f
29/01/2025
BCP Council has completed significant coastal protection works at Hamworthy Park, ensuring its resilience against erosion for the next 20 years.
A 200-metre stretch of sea wall along the eastern promenade has been reinforced using low-carbon concrete, while new steps have been constructed to improv
29/01/2025
Geo-environmental consultancy and remediation contractor, The LK Group, has strengthened its team with a trio of recruits.
The multidisciplinary company's latest raft of hires comprises a new director, associate director and remediation manager.
The geo-environmental specialist, headquartered i
