The bespoke circular design of Harrogate Borough Council’s new civic centre could have cost taxpayers an extra £2m.
Speaking to The Stray Ferret, several local architects and quantity surveyors have estimated that curved design adds anywhere between 15 and 35% to the cost of building. Conservatively, we have estimated 20% for the additional cost at Knapping Mount.
The contract with builders Harry Fairclough Ltd was awarded for £11.5m. Using the 20% uplift indicated by experts, a more conventional design for the same square footage could have come in closer to £9.5m.
Not only that, but the unique design of the building has made it very difficult to extend compared to a rectangular building.
What were the reasons for that choice? In its planning application, HBC rather grandly said:
“The circular plan form derives from a number of influences including the desire to express the nature of democracy and local government through a circular debating room which is located at the centre of the building.”
It talked about creating a ‘one council’ culture through working in one place, serving as a main civic hub for the district, and said the design was influenced by a need to offer “good value and careful use of public money”.
Read more on this investigation:
- Exclusive: Stray Ferret investigation reveals true cost of new civic centre
- Council rejected business park option that would have saved £7m
Why are round buildings so expensive?
Architects who spoke to The Stray Ferret said there are several reasons why curved construction is a more expensive choice.
Each aspect of the build becomes more complex, from inserting square objects such as doors into rounded walls, to joining walls together and ensuring a watertight finish.
Then the furnishings come into play. Flooring for a circular room is more expensive because there is more waste, while specialist furniture is needed to make the most of the space – otherwise, standard furniture leaves awkward, unusable areas.
At Harrogate’s civic centre, an astonishing 27 CCTV cameras are in place to monitor all the building’s facets, compared to just three in the district’s public parks.
An architect’s drawing of Harrogate’s new civic centre
Local specialists who spoke to The Stray Ferret said it is much harder to use space efficiently in a room with curved walls, leading to a larger square footage being required to accommodate the same number of staff as a rectangular building.
One expert described the civic centre’s design as “ludicrous”. He told The Stray Ferret that the new civic centre is so bespoke that it would be hard to adapt for another purpose, leaving question marks over its potential resale value if it is no longer needed.
In the third part of our investigation, we look at what other options were available to the council – and how much less it could have cost the taxpayer.
