Cumbria County Council

The Challenge
Cumbria County Council decided to invest in new, future-proof headquarters rather than invest a similar amount of money into refurbishing and maintaining its multiple existing sites.

The project would allow the Council to downsize its office portfolio from 22 locations in and around the city to just two. 

Housing 700 staff, the new £10.4 million development would reflect a major rejuvenation of the area, designed to be a major gateway into Carlisle city centre.

The Solution
The new building is laid out to house two functions. The first, a two-storey elevation, houses public, customer-facing activity, while the second contains private, open-plan work areas for 450 people, along with ‘hot desks’ for visitors.

The building makes use of a range of sustainable technologies, such as photovoltaic solar panels, to improve the building’s efficiency.

Forterra’s County Multi Smooth brick from its Butterley range complements the natural stone and glass also used in the building’s design.

The Benefits
As well as saving Cumbria County Council money, Cumbria House brings a wide range of benefits, including improved working conditions for staff. Chief Executive, Diane Wood, commented “The new offices will provide a fantastic working environment for staff. It will support our ‘one team’ ethos with everybody working together in one building. Cumbria House is a much more environmentally-friendly building and, importantly, it’s better for our customers in Carlisle because they can now access all our services from on eplace”.