One Bickerstaffe Square — part of a £220m Muse Developments regeneration scheme for Blackpool — has picked up its fourth award in less than a year.
The five-storey flagship office block, which now houses Blackpool Council headquarters, is part of the town’s Talbot Gateway regeneration project, a new commercial hub that Muse is creating incorporating office, hotel, retail and leisure accommodation.
Recognised at the annual British Council for Offices (BCO) North of England, North Wales and Northern Ireland property sector awards, One Bickerstaffe Square beat strong competition to scoop the Best Corporate Workplace award to “demonstrate both the operational benefits and sustainability it has achieved”.
Praising the building’s visual appearance and its modern facades, the judges also commended its energy efficiency credentials. “This energy efficient structure will save the taxpayer money in the future as it has enabled the council to reduce its energy costs by over a third,” said judging chairman, Andrew Woodhouse.
The project has enabled Blackpool Council to rationalise seven former property assets into a centralised office space. “That means our services can work with each other more effectively and efficiently and as a result deliver a better public service. It has also allowed us to close our old, uneconomical offices and release the land for responsible development that will benefit the town,” explained Steve Thompson, the authority’s director of resources.
“The whole development has been completed to a high standard so it’s really pleasing to see that work praised with this award,” he added.
As BCO chief executive, Richard Kauntze, commented: “We are delighted to see One Bickerstaffe Square leading the way in terms of workplace design within the region, and will follow the ongoing regeneration of Blackpool with interest.”
The council judges were also impressed by the interior layout of the building, designed with flexibility and future-proofing in mind and allowing option of including either cellular or open plan offices as required.
“Not only is the building a striking addition to Blackpool’s corporate landscape, its environmental credentials and innovative usage of space are also first-class,” said Mike Horner, Muse Developments’ regional director.
“This award recognises the building’s flexibility and energy efficiency as a modern workplace and is testament to the efforts of all those involved in the successful realisation of the Talbot Gateway Central Business District project.”
Constructed as part of a council’s master plan for the area, the Talbot Gateway project will eventually provide more than one-million square feet of Grade A office space, retail units, cafes and restaurants, a new transport interchange and hotel.
The project’s first phase has now been completed and includes a new 120,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s foodstore which opened in June 2014. It also involved the refurbishment of the second oldest multi-storey car park in the country, to which ground floor retail space was added.
