Bridgegate House refurbishment, Irvine

Work is expected to start on the refurbishment of Bridgegate house in Irvine in May 2012. Extensive work to both the interior and exterior of the building will completely transform this prominent building to provide modern office accommodation including a new customer centre which will be main focus for public interaction with North Ayrshire Council.

The transformation of Bridgegate House will involve a facelift for the property, radically altering the look of this building and creating a more contemporary feel to this area of Irvine's shopping centre.

Ian Springford Associates have created a design to transform the exterior of Bridgegate House.

The new design will provide a new glazed look for the fascia of  Bridgegate House, replacing the existing frontage with a cleaner, brighter and more modern look.

Along with refurbished shop fronts, one of the most exciting elements of the new-look Bridgegate House will be the new Customer Centre. This will be located at the High Street entrance to the building and will become the main port of call for local people contacting the Council.

Watch a flythrough of the refurbished Bridgegate.

The refurbishment of the outmoded 1970s-style building will have an immediate impact on the area and will tie in with the surrounding redevelopment to create a contemporary town centre. 

The total project cost will be £8.5 million. North Ayrshire Council is leading on this project and contributing the majority of the cost of this major overhaul, including the interior fitout, with Irvine Bay providing £800,000 towards the external works. 

Survey work has now been complete and the designs adjusted. A planning application was submitted in November 2010 and planning approval has now been given.

Submissions from six short-listed companies for the main works will be received in February, with the successful company scheduled to start in May 2012.

The work will be carried out in two phases to ensure a continuity of service for local residents. The first phase will be completed early in 2013 and the second phase will be completed by August of next year.

For further information contact: Lawrence Cree (Project Manager) lcree@north-ayrshire.gov.uk

Listening to your views

A successful "pop-up-shop" provided a place for over 500 people to share their views on the plans. The shop ran for two days in October 2011 at unit 2b, The Bridgegate (formerly the Stationary Box).

Look out for further consultation events.