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16/03/2010
Planning permission has been granted today for new civic offices to be built in Wakefield, as part of the city’s Merchant Gate development.
The new four storey building - adjacent to County Hall on Burton Street in the city – is being delivered by English Cities Fund (ECF), a partnership between Muse Developments, Legal and General and national housing and regeneration agency the Homes and Communities Agency.
The new civic office development - designed by Cartwright Pickard Architects - will form a key part of the Wakefield Merchant Gate Masterplan, a major regeneration project spanning approximately 17 acres of vacant land between the railway station and the city centre.
Work will start on the 123,000sq ft this summer, which will provide new efficient office accommodation for 1,200 people, transforming the space available for employees and the public. A key aspect of the development on the 1.13 acre site will be an atrium space, open to the public and including a ground floor café.
The civic offices will make up phase two of ECF’s Merchant Gate scheme, which already - in its first stage - has over £50m worth of new development now well underway in the city centre. The new multi-storey car park to serve the station and the city is on programme to be completed this May, followed by 66 residential apartments, 47,000 ft of Grade ’A’ office space and 35,000 sq ft of retail and leisure accommodation in August 2010.
Emma Cordingley, development director for ECF, said: “This is a real boost for Wakefield, we are delighted that planning has now been granted for the second phase of Merchant Gate. It’s testament to all the hard work from all partners involved in this scheme.
“The new civic offices will be a tremendous asset to Wakefield city centre, the Council and the residents of the city. The offices will also bring a guaranteed workforce into Merchant Gate, which will be an attractive draw for tenants of the retail and leisure units, currently underway as part of the scheme’s first phase.
“Despite the difficult economic conditions we are all experiencing at the moment, we are committed to delivering this essential scheme for Wakefield, and look forward to this summer.”
Cllr Graham Stokes, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for Business and Resources, said: “This will be a key building – it will provide a central one-stop point for citizens.
“It will also create more modern, efficient and effective offices meaning we can maintain and improve the services we provide for the district, whilst creating a better working environment for our staff.
“During the past few years we’ve been cutting down on the number of buildings we occupy from 36 to 12 to save taxpayers’ money as part of our Worksmart programme. This building forms part of that plan and will also be more efficient and sustainable.”
Peter Cartwright, Director at Cartwright-Pickard, commented: “We are delighted the project has received planning permission and that the new civic offices will start on site this summer. Importantly, the new building will be highly sustainable as well as providing a focal point and a new destination for the people of Wakefield.”
The development of the Merchant Gate scheme will also include creating a new section of the Emerald Ring - being delivered as part of the Wakefield Renaissance programme - which will provide access to the development, including the new Civic offices.
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