Work to refurbish the Town Hall in Weston-super-Mare
into an improved public and civic facility reached a major
milestone today (17 January) with the topping out ceremony to mark
the completion of the new roof.
The £9.7m transformation means we will deliver on our
promises of going from 18 buildings to two, halving our
floorspace, saving £700,000 every year and increasing the number of
public and private sector jobs in Weston town centre.
It will also mean that we will run the Town Hall buildings
more efficiently – photovoltaic panels on the new roof will help
reduce carbon emissions by 61% – and make our services
more accessible in a vibrant, ground floor facility opening to the
public this autumn.
A new ramp and entrance on Walliscote Grove Road will give
direct access to the new facility which will sit under an internal
atrium. As well as the relocated Weston Library, HomeChoice,
Revenue and Benefits, housing enquiries and many other public
services will be available on the ground floor.
The new library will have dedicated children’s and young
people’s zones and a bigger local studies area than the current
library in the Boulevard. Thirty-four public computers, payment
kiosks and self-service units to check library books in and out
will make accessing services quick and easy. Staff will be on hand
to assist with more detailed enquiries.
Meanwhile, the transformation of the upper floors will create
office space for around 950 people - 50% more than before -
including 80 new posts recently announced by Agilisys, our
support services partner.
Leader Cllr Nigel Ashton said: “Doing nothing at the Town Hall
was not an option. Both the Town Hall and Weston Library buildings
needed costly remedial works which wouldn’t give any tangible
benefit to the services we deliver.
"Instead, this wise investment in the Town Hall will make it
quicker and easier to access council services and provide a library
fit for the 21st century, achieving better value for money.”
The Town Hall works are part of our innovative programme to
improve the way we work. Our staff, previously fragmented
across 18 sites, are being co-located in two efficient ‘hubs’ – the
Town Hall in Weston and Castlewood in Clevedon – where they can
work more easily with each other and our partners sharing the
buildings.
Agilisys and Liberata (our outsource partners), along with NHS
North Somerset, have already moved staff into Castlewood
and we are talking to other public sector partners about
working alongside our staff in the refurbished Town
Hall.
Cllr Ashton continued: “The Town Hall is part of a much bigger
story. By basing council staff at the Town Hall and Castlewood they
will be able to work together and with our partners to deliver
improved services for local people.
"As well as giving the council and our partners the capacity to
expand our operations, the move also dramatically reduces our
property maintenance and energy costs and, coupled with rental
income from partners, means we can save £700,000 each year by
2015/16.”
