CIVIC leaders have given their backing for an initial £1million phase of works to deliver a new central headquarters for BCP Council.

The Bournemouth town hall site is set for a major internal redevelopment project to become the BCP Council Civic Centre.

Cabinet members approved the proposed re-modelling of the town centre building and recommended that full council approves a phase one budget of £1.067million, with just over half of this been borrowed.

The latest proposals for phase two of the scheme involve using space vacated by the Citizens Advice team to improve the area for civil partnerships and wedding ceremonies – a business which brings the council £700,000 a year from 2,000 ceremonies on council properties –500 of them at Bournemouth Town Hall.

A report to the council’s cabinet this says the improvement should result in an increase in income from the ceremonies, with the proposed move allowing the registrars’ team direct access to and from the outside.

Cllr Anne Filer, who chairs a councillor working group on the council’s building needs, said the project involves obvious challenges in trying to convert a building, once a hotel built in the late 1880s, into a modern workspace with the necessary IT, public areas, committee rooms and easy and safe access at the same time as meeting modern safety requirements.

She said that one of the aims was to have the civic space within the building, sometimes referred to as The West Wing, to be secure and safe and available 24/7 and for weekend working.

The cabinet report said that, as a meeting space, the area should be able to fit 80 to 100 members of the public in row seating and a horseshoe table committee area for 20 to 25 councillors and officers with the room capable of being sub-divided into smaller rooms using partition doors.

A new purpose built escape staircase is also proposed on the side of the council chamber block with access through what are currently windows at the first and ground floor.

The council chamber itself is likely to have reupholstered seating; improved desks –including microphones, laptop stands and charging points with three screens, two in the chamber and one in the public gallery. It will be fitted with a wired conferencing system and integrated camera tracking system and live streaming and recording ability.

The report says that the proposed works also includes the introduction or update to the heating, air cooling, air extraction system in the west wing, including the Council Chamber and new large meeting room to comply with Covid guidelines.

Phase one of the works are expected to be completed by the end of May 2022 so that council committee meetings, currently taking place in Poole Civic Centre can operate from BCP Civic building. This would enable Poole Civic Centre to close for remodelling works from June 2022.

To meet these deadlines, the council is applying for listed building consent for phase one following the cabinet backing at the meeting on Wednesday, November 24.

Full council does not meet until January so the budget will not be fully resolved until at least the new year.