Kingswood Civic Centre and Locality Hub

 UPDATE: August 2011

Our project team handed over the keys to Council Leader, Cllr John Calway, joined by representatives from the Council’s Children, Young People and Families services, NHS South Gloucestershire (PCT) and North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT), all of which will be based in the new buildings.

Following a tour of the building, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Cllr John Calway, said: “This is a state of the art centre which will bring essential frontline services much closer to the children and young people who need them."

Natasha Curtis, General Manager for Woman and Children's Directorate at NBT and Teresa Bailey Area Health Manager for South Gloucestershire Community Children's Health Partnership attended the official handing over of the keys.

Teresa said: "This is a wonderful building that will enable many children's services in South Gloucestershire to come together to offer joint clinics and assessments."

Dominic Somerville, Business Manager for Wates Construction in the South West, commented:  “We are delighted to hand over the Civic Centre and Locality Hub to South Gloucestershire Council. It remains a priority of Wates to make a positive impact on the communities in which we work, a commitment that has seen us direct 96% this project’s waste materials away from landfill.”

UPDATE: 10th March 2011

Thursday 10th March and a grey, overcast morning greeted the Topping Out team for the Children’s Locality Hub, the new build element of the Kingswood Civic Centre project. Joining Sean Franks [Project Manager] and his team for the short ceremony were representatives from South Gloucestershire Council, including: Councillor Janet Biggin, Chair of the Council; Councillor Sheila Cook; Councillor Terry Walker; Teresa Bailey, NBT Area Health Manager; and Gerald Wood, Property Service Department. The designers were represented by: Nigel Dyke and Robin Gray, Alec French Architects; and Roy Briner, Parsons Brinkerhoff.

The whole project, which includes the remodelling of the existing Civic Centre, is scheduled for completion by the autumn, 2011. It will allow staff to centralise from a number of locations around the South Gloucestershire area.  

UPDATE: March 2011

The Kingswood team successfully reached another key milestone on the project when the One Stop Shop was opened by Councillor Janet Biggin, Chair of the Council, on the 7th March 2011. The planned early completion of this section of the refurbishment allowed the council’s staff to relocate to the new facility, which also includes space for an 18 strong Community Police team.

Among the dignitaries attending the opening were: Councillor John Calway, Leader of the Council; Councillor Allan Higgs, Executive Member – Corporate Affairs; Councillor Terry Walker, Councillor for Kings Chase; and Chris Skidmore MP, Member of Parliament for Kingswood.

The One Stop Shop staff are delighted with their new working area with its light airy interior, efficient work space and interview rooms. Work can now start in the redundant One Stop Shop to convert the area into administration and office space for the council.

The whole project, which includes a new Locality Hub is due for completion this summer. The team are preparing for the topping out of the new build element later this month.

UPDATE: November 2010

A major part of this project comprises the remodelling of the existing Civic Centre. This requires the complete strip out of existing building services, partitions and finishes. This has been largely completed and we are now in the process of new first fix services and partitions.

Externally, the roof is being re-felted and tiled, some new areas of glazing are being installed and new ventilation louvers are being installed under existing windows.

The Locality Hub comprises a concrete frame to first floor, which has just been completed, and timber frame above, now progressing.

Beginning on site in August 2010, this project consists of the refurbishment of an existing Civic Centre building and construction of a new Locality Hub in Kingswood, Bristol.

With a tight site, two adjacent construction projects and the need to maintain staff and public access to sections of the building, site set up and the management of logistics has been a very important consideration. A detailed plan was developed for our tender bid and is regularly reviewed to ensure a professional appearance to the civic centre is maintained throughout the build.

An important part of the project is maintaining three significant operational areas of the existing Civic Centre:

• The ‘One-stop Shop’, where public services are provided;
• Server Rooms, with vital IT links to various council hubs and schools; and
• South Gloucestershire’s in-house print facility.

This involves keeping access open for both staff and the public, at all times. It is essential that services are maintained and the impact of our works kept to an absolute minimum, particularly noise and dust generation.

Located within the heart of the town our team are taking a proactive approach to communicating with close residential and commercial neighbours.  We are issuing monthly newsletters, maintaining and information board at the site entrance, and arranging visits to the local Youth Centre and schools.

Client: South Gloucestershire Council

Duration: August 2010 - July 2011

Project:  Refurbishment of an existing Civic Centre building and construction of a new Locality Hub

Value: £8.75m

Categories: pre-construction, design, value engineering, new build, refurbishment, value creation, M&E, local authority frameworks, government offices, health and safety, people, south west

Tags: Bristol, Civic Centre, Construction Framework South West, Kingswood, South West

Dominic Somerville

Business Unit Manager - South West

call now on 01454 615561

email me here