Trafalgar House & The Old Fire Station, Great Yarmouth
Trafalgar House & the Old Fire Station, Great Yarmouth
Start Date: |
November 2013 |
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Completion Date: |
March 2015 |
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Construction Value: |
£2 million |
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Location: |
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk |
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Sustainability: |
Residential |
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Team
Client: |
Saffron Housing Trust |
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Local Authority: |
Great Yarmouth Borough Council |
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Project Manager: |
Oxbury & Company |
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Architect: |
The Design Partnership |
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Consulting Engineer: |
Canham Consulting |
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Overview
An innovative project to turn two former council buildings into much-needed affordable homes for Great Yarmouth was kick-started by a forward-thinking decision by Great Yarmouth Borough Council to sell the buildings for just 50p each – and the result is 29 one- and two-bedroom flats for affordable rent.
Trafalgar House and the Old Fire Station became surplus to council requirements in late 2012 after the council completed work to reduce the number of buildings it operates from. The cost of mothballing the buildings and preparing them for market sale would have been considerable, and the risk of attracting anti-social behaviour in the interim would have been high. So the council took the unusual decision to sell them for a knockdown price – provided they were converted into use as affordable housing.
Working with Saffron Housing Trust, Wellington used its historic buildings expertise to strip out the buildings to create the new homes, as well as work on the external fabric to ensure their heritage was preserved. Both are constructed in red brick and terracotta, and are important features in the town, as well as being in a conservation area.