Reading: Kier wins deal to redevelop council offices site

Kier Property has been chosen by Reading Borough Council as preferred bidder for a mixed-use regeneration scheme of the area around the Civic Centre in Hosier Street, Reading. Kier will now draw up detailed plans for a mixed residential and retail development on the site, which includes Hosier Street. The Civic Centre will be closed and demolished once staff have moved to a new headquarters building at Plaza West, Bridge Street next year.

The scheme will be Kier Property’s third significant project in the town, having already completed One Reading Central and the enterprise centre a the University of Reading WhiteKnights campus.

The Council is moving to Plaza West because the current Civic Centre is at the end of its design life, said a spokesman. This - coupled with the presence of asbestos - makes the Civic Centre much more difficult and increasingly-expensive to maintain. One key reason for choosing Plaza West over other shortlisted buildings was the significantly lower refurbishment costs, which in itself is estimated to be four times lower than the cost of bringing the current Civic Centre up to an acceptable level. A large part of that is the prohibitive cost of dealing with asbestos in the Civic Centre.

Commenting on the appointment of Kier – which was agreed by the Council’s all-party Civic Board – council leader Jo Lovelock said: “This represents a significant step forward in the process to regenerate the area around the Civic Centre, and I am delighted to announce that Kier has been chosen as the development partner for this important part of Reading.

“The Civic Board was impressed with Kier’s vision for the area. The company is a major development player and they were able to demonstrate some impressive examples of where they have completed similar projects elsewhere in the UK. We are confident they will help to deliver an exciting transformation of this important part of the town centre.

“The regeneration project has been made possible by the Council’s decision to move to the existing Plaza West offices in Bridge Street which, as well as providing improved facilities for local residents and staff, will be less costly to maintain than the existing building. We are pleased that the work to renovate the building to meet the Council’s needs is progressing well. It is on budget and on schedule for completion towards the end of this year.”

Director of Kier Property Leigh Thomas commented: “Kier Property is delighted to be selected as preferred bidder on this scheme. We plan to work in partnership with all members of the team to deliver a mixed-use development that the partners and local community can be proud of.”