New Shire Hall is a municipal building on Emery Crescent, Alconbury Weald, Cambridgeshire, England, built in 2019–2020. It is the headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council.
| New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
  New Shire Hall Location within Cambridgeshire | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Modern |
| Address | New Shire Hall Emery Crescent Alconbury Weald Huntingdon PE28 4YE |
| Town or city | The Stukeleys (parish) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°22′34″N 0°14′20″W / 52.3761°N 0.2390°W |
| Completed | 2020 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Allford Hall Monaghan Morris |
History
editCambridgeshire County Council was created in 1889[1] and was previously based at various premises in the county town of Cambridge, notably including County Hall, Cambridge from 1914 to 1932[2] and Shire Hall, Cambridge from 1932 to 2021.[3]
In December 2017, as part of a cost-saving scheme, the county council announced plans to move to a smaller purpose-built facility at Alconbury Weald, a new settlement being developed on the RAF Alconbury site in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, to the north-west of the town of Huntingdon.[4] The site at Alconbury Weald had historically been in the county of Huntingdonshire, which had been absorbed into Cambridgeshire in 1974. The county council's proposed move to Alconbury Weald was approved by the full county council in May 2018.[5][6]
The county council decided to name the new building at Alconbury Weald "New Shire Hall".[7] It was built by contractors R. G. Carter to plans by the architectural firm of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, with construction work starting in December 2019. The new building was reported to cost £18.3 million.[8][9] The final committee meeting to be held at Shire Hall was on 12 March 2020. Meetings were then held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the rest of 2020 and first part of 2021, during which time the council vacated Shire Hall and moved to New Shire Hall, with the first committee meeting at New Shire Hall being held in September 2021.[10]
An official opening ceremony was held on 8 July 2022, and the first meeting of the full county council to be held in the building followed later that month.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ "Local Government Act 1888". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ Historic England. "County Hall, Cambridge (1265198)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1970). The Buildings of England: Cambridgeshire. London: Penguin. p. 232. ISBN 978-0300205961.
- ^ "Historic Shire Hall in Cambridge looks set to close and become a tourist attraction as part of county council plans to save £45 million". Cambs Times. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Cambridgeshire County Council backs HQ move to Alconbury site". BBC. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ Makey, Julian (15 May 2018). "County council HQ will move to Alconbury Weald - decision". Hunts Post. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ "Council to name new £18m HQ 'New Shire Hall'". Cambridgeshire Times. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
- ^ "Building work starts on new Cambridgeshire County Council HQ". Fenland Citizen. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Cambridgeshire County Council begins work on £18.3m 'civic hub' at Alconbury Weald for up to 600 staff". Ely Standard. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Children and Young People Committee, 14 September 2021". Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ Mason, Daniel (12 July 2022). "County council's £18m headquarters officially opens for business". Ely Standard. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "County Council meeting, 19 July 2022". Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 20 July 2022.