Milton Keynes Civic Offices is a municipal building in Saxon Gate, Milton Keynes, a city in Buckinghamshire, in England. It accommodates the offices and meeting place of Milton Keynes City Council.
| Milton Keynes Civic Offices | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2022 | |
| Location | Saxon Gate, Milton Keynes |
| Coordinates | 52°02′36″N 0°45′39″W / 52.0434°N 0.7608°W |
| Built | 1979 |
| Architect | Faulkner Brown Hendy Watkinson Stonor |
| Architectural style(s) | Modern style |
  Shown in Buckinghamshire | |
History
editAfter Milton Keynes was designated as a new town on 23 January 1967,[1] the new Milton Keynes Development Corporation was initially based at Wavendon Tower in Wavendon.[2] Following local government re-organisation in 1974,[3] the new Milton Keynes Borough Council initially operated out of the offices of the five councils it had replaced, although it relocated to Sherwood House (later known as Challenge House) in Bletchley in late 1974.[4][5]
The new borough council decided to commission dedicated civic offices. The site it selected was immediately to the southwest of the moot mound (meeting place) of the Anglo-Saxon Sigelai (or Secklow) Hundred, which dates back at least to the 13th century.[6][7][8] The new building was designed by Faulkner Brown Hendy Watkinson Stonor in the modern style, built in yellow brick and glass, and was completed in 1979.[9][10][11]
In June 2018, the borough council announced that the local register office would relocate from Bracknell House in Aylesbury Street (a villa dating from 1845) to the civic offices, with the result that that most weddings and civil partnership ceremonies would also be held at the civic offices.[12][13][14] A major programme of refurbishment works, which included the complete replacement of the air cooling system, was carried out at a cost of £11 million, and completed in 2020.[15][16][17]
Architecture
editThe three-storey building has a large, square, plan. The main entrance is formed by a porte-cochère on the southwest side. On the upper floors, cantilevered brick balconies run around the entire exterior. The windows are small, to minimise heat loss. When built, the building was surrounded by car parking, and behind it was a large, grassed area, with a water feature. In the centre of the building is a large council chamber.[9][18]
References
edit- ^ "No. 44233". The London Gazette. 24 January 1967. p. 827.
- ^ "No. 44233". The London Gazette. 24 January 1967. p. 827.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "Challenge House (formerly Sherwood), Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire". Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Sherwood House Office Building in Bletchley". Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "Secklow Hundred mound: a moot at the junction of North Row and North Ninth Street (1007940)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "The amazing history behind this piece of City Centre grass you've probably walked past hundreds of times". Milton Keynes FM. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Adkins, R. A.; Petchey, M. R. (22 December 2014). "Secklow Hundred Mound and Other Meeting Place Mounds in England". Archaeological Journal. 141: 243–251. doi:10.1080/00665983.1984.11077777. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Civic Offices". Look Again. Milton Keynes City Council. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Milton Keynes New Town Heritage Register" (PDF). The Civic Society for Milton Keynes. 1 March 2018. p. 9. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth; Brandwood, Geoffrey K. (1994). Buckinghamshire (Buildings of England Series). Yale University Press. p. 492. ISBN 978-0300095845.
- ^ "Backlash as Milton Keynes Council plan to move registry office to Civic Offices". Milton Keynes FM. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Would you want your wedding ceremony to be in Milton Keynes civic offices?". MK Citizen. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Milton Keynes historic register office will stay open, says council leader". MK Citizen. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Council Refurbishment Costs 'Spiral Out of Control'". MKFM. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Murrer, Sally (20 January 2022). "Another £1m bill for refurbishing Milton Keynes Council's offices is huge waste of cash, say Conservatives". Milton Keynes Citizen. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ ""Green" council puts MOSS on the walls inside its Milton Keynes HQ as part of £315,000 office refurbishment". MK Citizen. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Milton Keynes Civic Offices". Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre. Retrieved 15 June 2024.