As part of the Co-Location Programme, Hertfordshire County Council wanted to create a project that would merge public services and reduce running costs. Consequently, they wanted to re-lease the old local library site for new housing, as well as support the long-term future of both the local fire station and library.

Hertfordshire County Council appointed Pellings to provide multi-disciplinary services to the refurbishment and extension of the existing Fire Station to deliver a new, modern library alongside improved fire station facilities. We emphasised the need to set up appropriate communication protocols pre-works to fully understand the Fire Brigade’s facility requirements and ensure that the workers would not be affected by the works being undertaken. Communication during this stage was highly important to us as we wanted to ensure that all stakeholders would benefit from the project and that it would be a comfortable and dynamic environment to be a part of.

We provided feasibility costs for the co-location of services and carried out a value engineering exercise, flagging up potential savings based on the proposals and existing buildings. Part of the existing building was demolished to facilitate the new library, with the remaining part undergoing an extensive internal refurbishment to provide improved fire station facilities.

This was an exciting project to work on as we were able to unite different members of the local community by creating a multi-use space that caters to the needs of various user groups. It was rewarding to not only merge different services within the community, but also to allow different generations of people to connect and learn from each another.