Public Sector Hub

Our team in the Midlands have created a new College and Public Sector Hub facility in Horncastle, Lincolnshire.

The £7m mixed-use Public Sector Hub provides further education space for Boston College, alongside acting as East Lindsey District Council’s new headquarters.

Procured under the Scape National Major Works framework, the new state-of-the-art shared space replaces the council's current headquarters to streamline its services and reduce its maintenance costs and carbon footprint.

The new building provides a 75% energy reduction compared to the old headquarters, which means the new building is projected to be cost neutral in just 8 years.

Relocating the council's headquarters will also bring future economic benefits to the area and places the governing body at the centre of the district.

Energy efficiency

To achieve this energy reduction, a number of efficiency measures have been put in place including self-adjusting lighting and a PV array on the roof.

We also took a fabric-first approach to this project, selecting materials with a low U value to achieve high levels of insulation in the building. This will help to drive energy efficiency by keeping warm air inside in winter and cold air inside in summer - in doing so, building occupants won't need to use heating and cooling measures as often to keep the building at an ambient temperature.

We have also implemented Energy Synergy ^TM on the project to bridge the performance gap and drive down energy costs. This will involve ongoing monitoring for up to three years to ensure the building is being used in the most efficient way possible.

Providing upskilling opportunities

The new college campus houses four classrooms and a digital innovation computer-based classroom. Through studies conducted by Lincolnshire County Council, the availability of upskilling opportunities in the local area was raised as a challenge.

The new facilities mean the college has been able to launch a range of new adult learning courses for those aged 16+ to upskill the local community.

As well as benefitting individuals in their own learning and development, the new campus will also help to support local businesses in upskilling their employees to increase productivity, grow their business and add value to the local economy.

Creating council-specific spaces

As well as providing office space for council employees, there is also a large council chamber housed in the new building.

The unique requirements of this room were taken into account in the design to ensure it will fulfil the council's requirements. The nature of the space meant that ensuring everyone in the room has a clear view of proceedings was a key consideration for this space.

To ensure everyone will benefit from an unobstructed view in the ground floor chamber, a transfer structure was provided on the first floor. This has removed the need for pillars, which could have obstructed lines of sight.

Investing in the local community

Throughout the project, we also ensured that 14% of the contract value was invested back into the region. We will delivered this through community initiatives such as projects with local university students and careers events with Boston College, as well as using local social enterprises, local businesses and local labour.