Falkirk Council: Work to demolish Municipal Buildings to get underway

Contractors will begin work on demolishing a former town centre health clinic next week.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The project is part of the proposal to spend £24 million building a new Falkirk Council headquarters on the site of the old Westbank Clinic which neighbours the current municipal buildings.

Last year, councillors rejected a plan to build a new HQ and arts centre closer to the town centre on a site bordering the High Street and Cockburn Street.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Instead they agreed there should be a new build for council offices and instead of a new arts facility the current town hall should be refurbished.

Falkirk Municipal Buildings will be demolished but there are plans to upgrade the neighbouring town hallFalkirk Municipal Buildings will be demolished but there are plans to upgrade the neighbouring town hall
Falkirk Municipal Buildings will be demolished but there are plans to upgrade the neighbouring town hall

The decision came after over £1.8 million had been spent on the previous project over a seven year period of deliberations.

Read More
Falkirk Council tenant: 'But why did you have to let them live in our street?'

This week a spokesperson for Falkirk Council said: “Work is moving ahead on schedule for the Municipal Buildings site, as well as work at Falkirk Town Hall.

"We are already working on new costings/designs for the HQ proposals and these will be presented to council in the near future.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Further work is also taking place on costing for a significant refurbishment of Falkirk Town Hall. All of the work is detailed so that members can see the full costs and scale of the work involved.”

On the demolition work, they added: “Contractors take over the Westbank site next week and will begin a phased stripping out and eventual demolition of the former NHS building.

“They will then move on to Municipal Buildings and the District Court and Committee Suite. The work is expected to last until November.

“We are keeping neighbours informed as we progress.”

Council employees are currently working from a number of different offices around the district including Abbotsford House in Bainsford and a new hub in Larbert.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Falkirk Council initially bought the site of the current Municipal Buildings in 1946.

That purchase included a large house – Westbank House – and the Town Chamberlain’s office soon moved there, followed by other council departments.

The Town Council demolished Westbank House in 1962 and constructed the current purpose-built Town Hall and Municipal Buildings with car parking which were completed in 1965.

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FKH/V

Related topics: