Civic chiefs get keys to Southampton's cultural quarter offices (From Daily Echo)
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Civic chiefs get keys to Southampton's cultural quarter offices
7:10am Friday 6th August 2010 in
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- By James Maden » News and Video Reporter
IT’S the first piece of the jigsaw in the transformation of Southampton’s cultural quarter.
Civic chiefs have taken hold of the keys to No 1 Guildhall Square, the new £25m home of Southampton City Council employees.
Standing six floors tall, the long glass windows at the top look over the wider regeneration of the Northern Above Bar quarter, soon to be home to a flagship arts complex worth £19m.
Staff were slowly beginning to make the move across to the sparkling new building which will house 260 desks across large open plan spaces and offices.
Centralising the council’s administrative operation, the move will mean the eventual closure of Frobisher House in September, Southbrook Rise in 2012 and finally Castle Way in 2014.
With two and a half floors taken by the council as well as the bottom floor housing the council’s Gateway service, the remainder will be rented by Capita who run the council’s IT.
Finance chiefs believe the move will save the public purse some £3.5m over the next 40 years.
Council Leader Royston Smith said: “It ticks all the boxes, it’s a great building, a good looking building, it’s a landmark of sorts and of course it’s part of this whole cultural quarter and the Northern Above Bar redevelopment so we’re very, very pleased.
“It’s also going give staff much better working conditions and it helps to let them know that we value them and that they are incredibly important to us.”
Peter James, managing director of Atlantic Property Developments, said: “We are extremely proud of this building and the partnership we have had with Southampton City Council.
“This is the culmination of a lengthy project and we’re over the moon with the end product and hopefully so are the council.”
Comments(16)
The Edge of Reason
says...
8:45am Fri 6 Aug 10
Would that be the staff he values so much he is replacing them with volunteers or just the high flyers on over £100k a year?
Iain
says...
8:49am Fri 6 Aug 10
MaximumAdrian
says...
9:31am Fri 6 Aug 10
Iain wrote:We now have our very own “Caprice des Dieux” just like the European Parliament.
Everyone else is cutting back, but at least the council have nice shiny windows. That's a weight off my mind.
Elgy
says...
9:49am Fri 6 Aug 10
Maine Lobster
says...
9:54am Fri 6 Aug 10
Spot O'Bother wrote:Apparently it came from "existing budgets." Interesting that there is no money for services and job cuts of the lower paid are rife in public services, but there are enormous sums to be found for pet projects and the accommodation of the Council's private partner Capita.
Where did the 25m come from?
The usual manipulation of public funds by senior Council officials for the betterment of their own careers.
Would have rather seen the £25million spent on keeping libraries open and looking after vulnerable people and the elderly.
Lone Ranger
says...
11:28am Fri 6 Aug 10
.
MrGMan
says...
11:29am Fri 6 Aug 10
Lone Ranger
says...
11:33am Fri 6 Aug 10
MrGMan wrote:As usual you conveniently ommited a little detail.
Great to save £3.5 million.
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"believe's....so maybe.
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Over 40 years.
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Lone Ranger
says...
11:36am Fri 6 Aug 10
Tommy News
says...
12:40pm Fri 6 Aug 10
MaximumAdrian
says...
1:27pm Fri 6 Aug 10
Tommy News wrote:We shall see.
It is a shrewd move to buy the building whilst the property market is depressed. It beats renting, when the landlord would no doubt hike prices up over the duration of the lease.
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"Finance chiefs believe the move will save the public purse some £3.5m over the next 40 years".
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That is £87.5K per annum saving. I bet all the assumptions made prove to be wrong, particularly on the interest payments to fund the purchase.
Condor Man
says...
1:44pm Fri 6 Aug 10
Lone Ranger
says...
4:22pm Fri 6 Aug 10
Condor Man wrote:Hardly groundbreaking......
Lone Ranger, it must be heartbreaking to see a ground breaking Council office being instigated and constructed by a Tory council. Let's not forget, the left opposed the partnership with Capita and this would never have happened without it. The council have got a good deal on something that will cost the taxpayer NOTHING. You can't ask for more than that. Ask your master how much Itchen College were out of pocket after he messed up the higher education funding!
.why should it be heartbreaking.......
.ive contributed via my taxes towards it. And i have no problems with the vast majority of people that work there.
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Its just the few that seem to think that they are on some kind of ego boosting publicity trip throughout the city and that everything good has come from them.
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They are simply deluded.
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As regards costing the tax payer nothing .........well i would need a lot more convincing than just your blue tinted endorsement.
Linesman
says...
7:52pm Fri 6 Aug 10
Lone Ranger wrote:No doubt it will be heart-breaking for the elderly and vulnerable that have seen council care homes closed to save cash and parents who see the schools that their children attend in need of repair or replacing.
Condor Man wrote: Lone Ranger, it must be heartbreaking to see a ground breaking Council office being instigated and constructed by a Tory council. Let's not forget, the left opposed the partnership with Capita and this would never have happened without it. The council have got a good deal on something that will cost the taxpayer NOTHING. You can't ask for more than that. Ask your master how much Itchen College were out of pocket after he messed up the higher education funding!Hardly groundbreaking...... .why should it be heartbreaking....... .ive contributed via my taxes towards it. And i have no problems with the vast majority of people that work there. . Its just the few that seem to think that they are on some kind of ego boosting publicity trip throughout the city and that everything good has come from them. . They are simply deluded. . As regards costing the tax payer nothing .........well i would need a lot more convincing than just your blue tinted endorsement.
southy
says...
11:40am Sat 7 Aug 10
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HANDOVER: From left, Southampton City Councill chief executive Brad Roynon, Atlantic Property Deveolpments’ Peter James, Councillor Jeremy Moulton and city council leader Cllr Royston Smith.
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Spot O'Bother says...
7:13am Fri 6 Aug 10