Construction underway on district council new headquarters

WORK has started in Williton on a centralised £2.9 million headquarters for West Somerset Council.
Council chief executive Tim Howes said: “We are delighted to be centralising our workforce in these new offices.
“This is a big investment for Williton, good news for the local economy, and a positive move for West Somerset.”
The majority of the existing collection of ageing council buildings on the site will be demolished and replaced with a two-and-a-half storey T-shaped modern building at the northern end of the Killick Way car park.
Recycling banks on the site were removed on Monday, April 23, in preparation for the build, and the council is encouraging people to recycle what they can through the fortnightly kerbside black box collection service, or to use the public facilities at the household waste recycling centre on the village’s Roughmoor industrial estate.
The recycling centre is open from 8 am to 8 pm in the summer and from 8 am to 5 pm in winter.
Subject to the Somerset Waste Board’s approval, the council hopes to return some recycling banks into a smaller area in March, 2008.
Council staff are being encouraged to park off site during the build, and the council has secured sufficient car park spaces on private land nearby, to minimise any disruption to the public.
Mr Howes said: “We have put in considerable effort to ensure the building’s orientation, layout, and design maximise the use of natural light, climate control, and energy conservation.”
The new offices will feature a metal ziplock roof which gives the appearance of traditional lead, with render, glass panel, and brickwork walls.
Two floors of the building will comprise meeting rooms and open-plan offices with a part-mezzanine executive officers’ suite in the roof space above.
Floor space will total 2,025 square metres.
The council chose Exeter-based contractors Mansell plc’s design for the new offices following public consultation last November.
More than 70 per cent of those who responded to the consultation said they felt Mansell’s design was most suited to the site.
The illustration above is an artist’s impression of how the new council offices should look. Drawing submitted.