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| Reading - Civic Area Redevelopment; Reading Borough Council offices to move? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 29 May 2012, 01:35 PM (1,728 Views) | |
| daib0 | 29 May 2012, 01:35 PM Post #1 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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Reading Borough Council offices to move? BBC News Reading Reading Borough Council office move will 'affect trade' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-18246807 Shop owners say they will lose trade if Reading Borough Council goes ahead with its multi-million pound plan to move offices. Councillors are expected to vote on Tuesday night to move from the Civic Centre to Plaza West in Bridge Street. Deputy Leader Tony Page said not moving would be far more expensive than the relocation. But the manager of Broad Street Mall, Steve Fawke, said the current building acted as an "anchor" for local shops. He added: "We will survive, I have no doubt about that but the early days will be quite treacherous. I just think that the council have ignored or discounted the strategic impact of what could well damage the retail and commercial viability of that part of town." Reading East MP Rob Wilson said the nature of the business at the shopping centre would change and jobs would be lost as a result. But Mr Page said the council had no option but to move from the Civic Centre which was in a poor condition. He said: "Based on a best value for money option, which includes the price of purchasing the freehold of the respective buildings we are being recommended and we are looking to take forward the purchase of Plaza West in Bridge Street." Previous news in January - Talks start over new Civic Centre for Reading http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-16681086 Reading Borough Council has begun negotiations to relocate the Civic Centre to one of two locations in the town. The Berkshire authority says its current home in Castle Street is becoming expensive to maintain. A new civic centre could be located either in the Plaza West building in Bridge Street or RG2, the former Yell building, in Queen's Walk. A final decision will be made at a special council meeting in May. The council has invited the owners of RG2 and Plaza West to present their offers during February. A spokesman said the council had needed a cost-effective replacement for the Civic Centre for some time. He said: "The building is at the end of its design life, which means it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain. The overall design is not conducive to easy access, particularly for people with disabilities, and the presence of asbestos, although carefully-managed by council staff and contractors and not currently a health risk, adds to the overall cost of maintenance and means the building cannot be occupied indefinitely." So this building may not mean much in the future then - and what happens to 'Düsseldorf Way' then? I believe the final vote is TODAY!! Reading Civic Centre
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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| daib0 | 1 Jan 2013, 10:34 PM Post #11 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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Done! |
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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| daib0 | 29 Jan 2014, 01:27 PM Post #12 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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Reading Evening Post Council selects preferred bidder to redevelop Civic Centre site Kier Property is chosen to work with council on mixed residential and retail development The Civic Centre will be demolished to make way for a mixed-use development. A company has been chosen to redevelop the Civic Centre site when the council moves out later this year. Kier Property was selected by Reading Borough Council as preferred bidder to create a mixed-use regeneration scheme for the area. The council will now work with the company to draw up detailed plans for a residential and retail development on the site which also includes Hosier Street. Councillor Jo Lovelock, leader of the council, said: "This represents a significant step forward in the process to regenerate the area around the Civic Centre and I am delighted to announce that Kier has been chosen as the development partner for this important part of Reading." Kier Property has previously worked on the One Reading Central office development, in Forbury Road, which is now home to Hibu and PricewaterhouseCooper and the Enterprise Centre at the University of Reading. The council invited developers to tender for the Civic Area Redevelopment contract last April and Kier was appointed by the authority's all-party Civic Board. Staff are due to move out of the asbestos-riddled Civic Centre towards the end of the year and relocate to Plaza West, in Bridge Street, which is currently undergoing a refurbishment. The old offices will be flattened shortly afterwards, paving the way for the regeneration of the site. Cllr Lovelock said: "The Civic Board was impressed with Kier's vision for the area. The company is a major development player and they were able to demonstrate some impressive examples of where they have completed similar projects elsewhere in the UK. We are confident they will help to deliver an exciting transformation of this important part of the town centre." Leigh Thomas, director of Kier Property, said: "Kier Property is delighted to be selected as preferred bidder on this scheme. We plan to work in partnership with all members of the team to deliver a mixed-use development that the partners and local community can be proud of." Cllr Lovelock said the Civic Centre was expensive to maintain and at the end of its design life and the council's new Plaza West HQ will provide better facilities for the town's residents and for staff. She said: "We are pleased that the work to renovate the building to meet the council's needs is progressing well. It is on budget and on schedule for completion towards the end of the year." Big changes, then, about to happen ... |
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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| Hayes | 29 Jan 2014, 04:37 PM Post #13 |
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Knock down the Hexagon as well and build a proper theatre like a town our size should have then we can attract big name stars. |
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/www.readingfc.co.uk/?ref=bookmarks | |
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| daib0 | 29 Jan 2014, 04:40 PM Post #14 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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when do you want my band to turn up ?
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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| Hayes | 29 Jan 2014, 05:06 PM Post #15 |
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Just before last orders
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/www.readingfc.co.uk/?ref=bookmarks | |
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| daib0 | 7 Nov 2014, 06:46 PM Post #16 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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News at last! BBC News - Berkshire Council announces moving date Reading Borough Council to move from Civic Centre Reading Borough Council staff are due to begin their move to a new building later this month. Just under 1,000 staff members based in the 1970s Civic Centre in Reading will move in phases, with the aim that the building will be empty by 15 December. The council said the £25m move to Bridge Street was cheaper than the £100m work needed at the Civic Centre. Proposals to demolish the Civic Centre are due to be discussed by the planning committee on Wednesday. The application is recommended for approval. The council has said the building is "at the end of its design life" and has asbestos, which makes it increasingly expensive to maintain. Proposals will be drawn up for a mixed residential and retail development on the site, which includes Hosier Street. |
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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| daib0 | 15 Dec 2014, 08:23 PM Post #17 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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BBC News Reading Borough Council moves to new building in Bridge Street Reading Borough Council staff have moved into a new building ahead of the demolition of their former offices. Nearly 1,000 staff members who were based in the 1970s-built Civic Centre moved into new offices in Bridge Street earlier. ![]() The council said the £25m move was cheaper than the £100m work which would have been needed at the Civic Centre. The smaller offices reflect the 600 job cuts the council has made since 2010. All phone numbers remain the same. The Civic Centre contains asbestos and is set for demolition ![]() The council said the Civic Centre was "at the end of its design life" and was built using asbestos in some areas, which made it increasingly expensive to maintain. The 15-storey centre has now shut in preparation for demolition and the wider regeneration of the area. The Bridge Street offices, with three floors, is nearly half the size. Council leader Jo Lovelock said the new offices would be "significantly cheaper to run" and would be "around 75% more energy efficient". |
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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| daib0 | 26 Sep 2016, 05:21 PM Post #18 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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I love recuperating old threads ... Get Reading The building which represented local government in Reading for more than five decades is gradually disappearing. The Reading Civic Centre which looms over the IDR closed down in December 2014 and council staff moved into the smart Civic Offices in Bridge Street. The contractor to demolish the building was approved in January 2015 and the work began soon afterwards. The core of the building remained standing because a specialist team was inside stripping out the asbestos - one of the reasons why the old 70s built civic centre had become so expensive to run. Regular visitors to the old building were never surprised to see ceiling tiles had dropped to the floor revealing concealed asbestos and causing parts of the interior to be cordoned off or shored up with scaffolding. It was not unknown to hear a crash during a council meeting as a piece of the structure fell off. But now the real work of pulling down the concrete landmark has begun in earnest. The black ash and black tile interiors have gone. When the building is flattened it will become a “pocket park” as Reading Borough Council makes plans for future development of the site. The land is owned by the council and is likely to form part of a much wider redevelopment area provided a developer can be found. It is likely to be several years before the space is redeveloped. Behind on the news, but here to the NEW - It's all change for Reading Council as it prepares to open the doors on its new Civic Offices near The Oracle's Riverside on Monday, December 15. The move has been forced on the Borough Council as the result of changes needed to the old Civic Centre, which is based behind Broad Street Mall. The council says that the scale of building works needed to renovate the old offices means that it would be more cost effective to move and start again. The relocated Civic Offices are in Bridge Street, opposite the Riverside exit to the House of Fraser and close to The Oracle and still within the town centre. The old offices and Reading Borough Council's call centre will close at 3.30pm on Friday, December 12, before reopening from Bridge Street on Monday. The new address is Civic Offices, Bridge Street, Reading, RG1 2LU. All existing telephone numbers will be transferred across. The old Civic Centre building has large amounts of asbestos make it extremely difficult and expensive to maintain. The Council says that recent water leaks have seen parts of the building evacuated and closed off to staff, and part of an inside ceiling at the Civic is held up by scaffolding. There have also been instances of large window panels cracking, putting staff and the public at risk. The estimated cost of refurbishing the current Civic Centre and bringing it up to an acceptable standard, is around four times higher than the cost of refurbishing the Bridge Street offices. The Bridge Street Civic Offices are not a new build - they were existing offices. A level of refurbishment was necessary, including creating a public reception area and meeting rooms. While the current Civic Centre is set across 15 floors, the Bridge Street offices have three floors and occupies 45% less office space than currently used by the Council at both the Civic Centre and Fountain House. The smaller offices reflect that the Council has cut its workforce by more than 600 posts since 2010. The Council says that the relocated Civic Offices are predicted to use around 75% less energy than the current Civic Centre building. Reading Borough Council Leader Jo Lovelock said: "The reasons behind the Council having to move offices are well established. The fabric of this building is failing. The Council is having to spend a great deal of money just to maintain this building, and that is something that cannot continue. The fact it is four times more expensive to stay in this building than to move is a good indication of the scale of work which would be necessary if we'd stayed. At a time of significant cuts in Government funding and increased demands on services, we would much rather be spending that money providing services to residents. The all-party Civic Board had two priorities when identifying a location – to achieve the best possible value for money and to continue to deliver high quality services to local residents. After a thorough selection process, the Bridge Street offices ticked both those boxes. They will be significantly cheaper to run - which saves the Council tax payer money - they are nearly half the size of our current town centre offices, and will be around 75% more energy efficient. The site the Civic Centre sits on will form part of a major regeneration of what is an important part of the Town Centre and the Council last year appointed Kier as its regeneration partner to deliver that. When the Council moves, the Civic Centre will be shut down and demolished. That process in itself will take a considerable amount of time as the building needs to be stripped of all asbestos inside, before demolition of the exterior begins. The Hexagon will remain open throughout that process and we will be ensuring the theatre is well signposted throughout." |
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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| daib0 | 29 Oct 2016, 06:48 PM Post #19 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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What does it now look like? Here - ![]() ![]() |
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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| daib0 | 1 Nov 2016, 09:08 AM Post #20 |
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Inter-Forum Gamemaster!
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Latest ... ![]() |
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Royals Rendezvous - a specialist and friendly Reading FC fan forum Cello man... VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVmGOEMJLE&t=12s Please share ! | |
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2:26 PM Jul 11