Pershore Civic Centre is a municipal building in Queen Elizabeth Drive in Pershore, a town in Worcestershire, in England. The building accommodates the offices and meeting place of Wychavon District Council.
| Pershore Civic Centre | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The building (with the gabled entrance block on the right) in 2014 | |
| Location | Queen Elizabeth Drive, Pershore |
| Coordinates | 52°06′52″N 2°04′43″W / 52.1145°N 2.0786°W |
| Built | 1991 |
| Architectural style(s) | Modern style |
  Shown in Worcestershire | |
History
editA sanitary district was established in the Pershore area in 1875. In 1894, it was succeeded by Pershore Rural District Council, which initially met in the boardroom at the local workhouse in Station Road.[1][2] In the mid-1930s, the council decided to acquire a three-storey private house, No. 37 High Street, for use as its offices.[3] Following local government reorganisation in 1974,[4] it became the local offices of Wychavon District Council and continued in that use throughout the 1980s.[5]
However, in the mid-1980s, the council decided to consolidate its offices. In addition to No. 37 High Street, it had legacy offices in Droitwich and Evesham,[6] as well as a former mission hall in Head Street.[a] The site it selected for the new civic centre was open land on the north side of the town.[9] Construction work on the new building started in 1990. It was designed by the authority's chief architect in the modern style, built in red brick and was completed in 1991.[10]
The layout of the building was unusual with a main spine running from the southwest to the northeast: several blocks projected out to the northwest, including a gabled entry block. Internally, the principal areas included a council chamber and other committee rooms,[11] but there was also an emergency centre in the basement.[12] The architectural historian, Alan Brooks, has described the building as "rambling" and "neo-vernacular".[10]
A limited programme of refurbishment work, which included the installation of high definition closed-circuit television and monitoring equipment and the creation of a new business hub, was initiated at a cost of £250,000 in 2019.[13] A further programme of work, which included the replacement of all the windows, and making the heating system more efficient, was undertaken at a costs of £500,000 in 2022.[14][15]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Worcestershire". Kelly's Directory. 1898. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Pershore". Workhouses. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "37, High Street (1387076)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
- ^ "No. 52245". The London Gazette. 16 August 1990. p. 13404.
- ^ "Wychavon District Council History". Andrew Dyke: Councillor for Little Hampton. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "New cheaper homes plans". Worcester News. 18 March 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Freeman, Marion (2010). Pershore Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445630250.
- ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1900. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ a b Brooks, Alan; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007). The Buildings of England: Worcestershire. Yale University Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0300112986.
- ^ "Rooms to Hire at the Civic Centre". Wychavon District Council. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ McCamley, Nicholas J.; McCamley, Nick (2007). Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers The Passive Defence of the Western World During the Cold War. Pen and Sword Military Classics. ISBN 978-1844155088.
- ^ "Lights, cameras, carpet: Wychavon plans £330,000 upgrade to its own HQ". Worcester News. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Hancock-Bruce, Matt (14 August 2022). "Over £500,000 spent on upgrading Pershore Civic Centre". Evesham Journal. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Civic Centre window upgrade helps cut carbon emissions". Evesham Observer. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2024.