BSP Consulting

The state-of-the-art, eco-friendly building on Mareham Road will bring new learning opportunities to the people of Horncastle and surrounding villages. It is a shared space with Boston College UK launching a range of new adult learning courses for those aged 19+ at the Horncastle campus.

The new base for the council comes as it continues to streamline its services as part of the South & East Lincolnshire Council Partnership to give more effective and efficient service to residents.

The Hub is a sustainable building where maintenance costs and carbon footprint are both significantly reduced compared to the Council’s existing headquarters, Tedder Hall. The operation of the new building means it will be cost neutral over 15 years.

As well as offices, The Hub includes a Council Chamber where all East Lindsey District Council’s formal committee meetings will take place.

The new headquarters play a major role in ELDC’s plans for a greater focus on council staff working remotely, while the new council chamber will also be used for college lectures, weddings and community events.

The college has access to four classrooms and ancillary space.

Recommending approval, council officers said: “The proposed development will provide for an appropriate use of a semi-redundant site within the built up area of Horncastle.

“The nature of uses proposed will secure significant economic, cultural and social benefit for the town and substantial parts of East Lindsey.”

The College section of the hub will see the creation of four state-of-the-art classrooms, equipped with the latest technology, as well as a social space for learners and an office space for staff.

Cllr Craig Leyland, leader of East Lindsey District Council said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for adults to learn new skills and qualifications, employers to access training as well as have a locally-grown talent pool for recruitment. With colleges being some considerable distance from Horncastle where transport links can be difficult to access, we are proud to be working with Boston College to fill an education need in the area.

“As a council we are embracing a new way of working post-pandemic and the Hub is a key part of the flexibility we offer for our officers in supporting a work/life balance. By placing the authority at the heart of the district in Horncastle, also provides better access geographically for officers who work across the Partnership.”

Key challenges and engineering solutions

The large council chamber at ground floor required uninterrupted lines of sites which resulted in a innovative transfer structure at first floor level.

The elevation stepped in and out around the elevations which resulted in cantilevering frames over long sections of the elevations.

Structural Form: Substructure is piles and ground beams, Superstructure is a steel frame with an insitu concrete floor and roof deck.

Significant service distribution required large voids forming through many of the steel downstand beams. This was made much more efficient and achievable by the use of BIM Level 2 within the project.