The Council is set to review its properties in Irvine…
A review of a number of our offices and buildings in Irvine as part of a wide-ranging property exercise has recently been completed.
Elected members are being asked to consider the new proposals for the Irvine locality at a meeting of Cabinet on Tuesday, 19 March.
The potential changes would see staff vacating a number of buildings including the Quarry Road office block, Trinity Church, Galt House, Greenwood Conference Centre and Bridgegate House and, in the main, relocating to Cunninghame House.
The proposal would then be to explore future uses through a marketing exercise, and, in the case of Bridgegate House and Trinity Church, consider options for those buildings through the emerging plans to re-imagine Irvine’s town centre as part of the recent £20m Long Term Plan for Towns Levelling Up Funding allocation.
The plans would be delivered over several phases, with the full vacation of Bridgegate House as the final phase by January 2027.
In the meantime, the Council’s Customer Service Centre and the retail units on the ground floor of Bridgegate House would continue to operate as normal, providing an active frontage within that part of the town centre.
Most Council staff would move from the upper floors of the building and relocate to Cunninghame House later this year.
This is the first step in the process and special working groups will be formed with staff to detail the relocation process.
David Hammond, Head of Sustainability, Corporate Property & Transport said: “Things have changed considerably in our working lives since the pandemic and many colleagues based in Cunninghame House and Bridgegate House now work on an agile basis.
“We are also currently facing considerable budget pressures and need to reduce carbon emissions across the Council’s estate as part of our net zero approach.
“This has provided an opportunity to consider the properties we have, our staff, the nature of our service delivery and how we create an office accommodation plan that is fit for the future.
“Significant work has been carried out by officers to assess the various options.
“We will continue to engage with those affected and special working groups are proposed for representatives from all services to develop detailed accommodation arrangements for Cunninghame House and oversee the relocation process.
“Making these changes not only makes sense for staff, but also for financial and environmental reasons, and it also gives us wider scope to pursue plans to reshape and transform the town centre.”
Key upcoming milestones and dates
- Relocation of Genealogy services from the Townhouse to Irvine Branch Library, including internal alterations to the Library – July 2024 – March 2025
- Relocation of Business Support & Development services from Quarry Road offices to Cunninghame House – September 2024
- Relocation of Active Travel and Employability services from Trinity Church to Cunninghame House – September 2024
- Relocation of KA Leisure from Quarry Road offices to the Townhouse – April 2025
Bridgegate House
- Form cross-service staff steering group and undertake a series of engagement workshops April 2024 – July 2024
- Prepare detailed staff accommodation plan for Cunninghame House August 2024 – October 2024
- Complete the relocation of office staff from Bridgegate and within Cunninghame House November 2024 – December 2024
“We will continue to engage with those affected and special working groups are proposed for representatives from all services to develop detailed accommodation arrangements for Cunninghame House and oversee the relocation process.”David Hammond, Head of Sustainability, Corporate Property & Transport