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Gloucestershire Business News

Council working to regenerate empty buildings as Ecclesiastical prepares to leave

Gloucester City Council will work with the landlords of Ecclesiastical Insurance to ensure its city centre headquarters are put to good use when the company moves out to its new home.

And leader Councillor Richard Cook said the council is striving to fill any voids which appear across the centre as it focuses on regeneration.

Fitting out at Ecclesiastical's new headquarters at Gloucester Business Park in Brockworth is due to be completed at the end of the year.

Work by lead contractor Kier Construction began in May 2019 with the keys handed over by site owners Arlington last month, accelerating preparations for Ecclesiastical to move out of its long-standing home in Brunswick Road.

Time-lapse video: New home for Ecclesiastical reaches milestone 

Head of responsible business Chris Pitt said: "Ever since Ecclesiastical moved to Gloucester in the 1970s we have been a part of the local community and our commitment to the city is as strong as ever.

"It is really important that we have a workspace that has vibrant and social office spaces and our new headquarters at Gloucester Business Park provides us with a great opportunity to design our new offices to support how we want to work in the future.

"With the lease on Beaufort House ending at the end of 2020, we took the decision not to renew as it no longer met our particular needs."

He continued: "Despite the lockdown we have made fantastic progress on our new offices and we are aiming to move into the new premises in early 2021.

"As one of the county's biggest employers we want to commit our future to Gloucestershire and we will maintain our strong links to Gloucester through our numerous partnerships and charitable projects."

While Mr Cook said the decision on what to do with the existing offices was down to the landlords, the council would be keen to help ensure it does not stand empty.

He said: "The call comes down to the owners, but if they want to change them into flats we would certainly talk to them and our officers can put them in touch with potential developers.

"We always have need for additional residential units and I have been told the building could be converted, if that's what the current owners want.

"We would rather not see voids in the city, be it here or empty shops. They deteriorate and get neglected, we'd rather be making good use of that space."

He continued: "We have an interest as a city council to make sure there are no voids in the city centre.

"That's why we are trying to regenerate these old areas and make new use of them, make people proud of the city."

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