The City Council is expected to sign off the enabling works deal next week to allow work to start immediately. Officials said pressing ahead with this package would avoid delays of up to a year while the second-stage design and tender process continues. The council and development partner Capital&Centric split the project into two packages because of the complexity of taking the high-rise refurbishment through the Building Safety Act regime.
Scaffolding will begin going up around the 14-storey Grade II-listed Civic Centre from the end of September, with the building expected to be fully wrapped by Christmas. The wider £50m BDP-designed regeneration will transform the long-empty former council headquarters into 144 build-to-rent homes operated by Capital&Centric’s Ollo rental brand.
Morgan Sindall’s package will include stripping remaining external cladding to allow structural surveys, asbestos removal and internal and external demolition, including removal of the 1970s extension. After that, the major phase 2 remediation will include repairs to the concrete frame, strengthened floors, upgraded fire protection, roof works and new façades. More than £18m of Homes England Brownfield Infrastructure Land funding has already been secured for the project, which won planning and listed building consent in July. The appointment comes just weeks after Morgan Sindall completed the £30m transformation of nearby Armada Way following a two-year construction programme.
