News

Date

21/03/2011

Shepherd Developments and 5plus Architects secure planning permission for Trafford Town Hall

Shepherd Developments, and Manchester based 5plus Architects have secured planning permission from Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council for the redevelopment of its town hall.

The decision, recorded as minded to grant, will now be referred to the Secretary of State and if approved will then be referred back to the Council for the Chief Planning Officer to ratify the decision.

The design solution will address Trafford Council's fundamental ambition of transformational change in how it delivers services to the people of the borough, and also supports the integration of new, flexible ways of working - such as desk sharing - with a key aim of delivering a 60% reduction in desk allocation.

The £22 million 96,000 sq ft project - whose focus is on creating a modern, sustainable and holistic working environment - will be based around four distinct components:

• The refurbishment of the existing Grade II listed town hall - including the historic Council chamber - and the creation of high-quality meeting, conference, training and dining facilities for both employees, as well as the wider community
• 45,000 sq ft of new open-plan office space which is accommodated within three, two-storey ‘wings' offering a wide range of work settings to suits users' needs
• A new, highly transparent public reception and elegantly clad conference facility which fronts Warwick Road
• A two-storey internal street, which acts as an ‘organiser' of the building, and around which all three of the above components are hung.

The three office ‘wings' - described above - are 15m wide, with 3.2m floor-to-soffit height, maximising natural daylight penetration and allowing natural cross-ventilation. This highly sustainable strategy is further supported through the use of active chilled beams, combined with an exposed concrete frame which will create a low energy strategy during times when cooling is required.

The arrangement of the new building supports an office landscape where more private, quiet working can be accommodated at the ends of the wings, whilst more active, agile working is encouraged at the interface with ‘the street'.

Also, key to the design, are facilities that will allow the town hall to interact better with the local community and visitors alike. Those new facilities such as a restaurant, coffee-bar, meeting/conference rooms and customer services will allow local residents to better utilise their town hall. And, in these times of austerity, will generate much needed revenue for the Council.

The new town hall will also become a destination venue for both the local community and visitors alike. Landscaping and seating - across a sunken garden and three courtyards - will create an informal public realm environment, particularly over the summer months, enhancing the appearance and character of the location.

Paul Norbury, director of 5plus Architects said: "The successful, and unanimous, grant of planning permission follows two years of hard work. Encompassing architecture, masterplanning, interiors and graphics, this exciting project captures the best of the past, integrated with a 21st Century working environment. Our design will revitalise a significant civic building for the benefit of the people of Trafford."
Richard Squire, project director for Shepherd Developments added: "This is an exciting project that will provide great benefits to the community through the delivery of a much-improved, modernised facility that will nonetheless retain the building's architectural heritage. We look forward to working closely with Trafford Council as the project progresses."

Leader of Trafford Council, Cllr Matt Colledge said: "Trafford Town Hall requires an immediate programme of significant repairs if it is to remain operational. Redeveloping now will prevent the building going into further decay which would necessitate greater expense down the line and will provide us with an opportunity to make millions of pounds worth of savings, money that will be used to support front line services."
"The planning application approval means we are now one step closer to being able to begin work on this crucial project."

The new development will achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent' and be EPC ‘A' rated. Building work is due to commence in the summer and will be completed in 2012.