Work is underway on
the refurbishment and conversion of a former school and sixth form centre in
Sussex that will become a new base for social care services and pave the way
for the development of hundreds of new council homes.
Brighton & Hove City Council has chosen Willmott Dixon Interiors to
transform the site at the corner of Mile Oak Road and High Street in Portslade,
into 23,336 sq ft of office accommodation for staff in its children’s services
team.
The council’s planning department granted a change of use for the vacant
building which previously housed sixth formers from Portslade Community College
and was once home to Windlesham House prep school.
The move will allow the relocation of council staff from underused office space
on a site at Moulsecoomb, which has been earmarked for the development of more
than 200 new council homes.
Willmott Dixon Interiors will carry out demolition works and a full strip out
of the former Portslade school building, as well as some structural
interventions and external remedial works and repairs. New M&E services
will be installed, with parts of the building segregated through new access
control doorways.
The £3.7 million project was awarded through Orbis, a public sector partnership
between East Sussex County Council, Surrey County Council, and Brighton &
Hove City Council. It is expected to be complete in spring 2022.
Willmott Dixon Interiors will deliver a minimum of 5% social return on
investment of the project value, through activities including local employment
opportunities, education support and a hoarding artwork competition with local
schools.
Graham Shaw, managing director at Willmott Dixon Interiors, said: “This is a
strategically important project for Brighton & Hove City Council, that will
not only deliver new office space for social care services teams, but provide
much-needed council homes in the area. The project has been designed to retain
the existing internal configuration of the building to avoid large scale
structural alterations. We will also have a full crew of operatives on site,
including a dedicated traffic marshall to assist with delivery of materials and
minimise disruption for residents and commuters.”
The project team includes Potter Raper as quantity surveyor, project manager
and employer’s agent.
