Would you like a purpose-built control centre? Five were released to market by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Five of the nine Zenith centres are still available: in Cambridge, Castle Donington, Taunton, Wakefield and Wolverhampton. Andrew Venables, Director National Markets with GVA is handling the lettings.
Each Zenith Control Centre extends to some 30,000 sq ft and benefits from a fully secured environment in a readily accessible out-of-town, business park location. The Centres in Hampshire, County Durham, Cheshire and London, have already been secured for use, with the remaining five available in Cambridge, Castle Donington, Taunton, Wakefield and Wolverhampton.
According to the agents, a number of serious enquiries have already been made by a range of potential users including, among others, educational providers, data centre operators, local authorities and the emergency services.
Andrew Venables, Director National Markets with GVA, says: “We have been pleased with the level of interest from organisations seeking modern, cost-effective, functional and highly resilient accommodation. Each of these five buildings is immediately available to a wide range of potential occupiers looking for a high specification finish, in-built technology and an extremely secure environment. I would encourage anybody considering these features to get in touch, as buildings with this range of facilities are very rarely offered to the market.”
The self-contained three-storey buildings incorporate substantial office space and a double height control room area suitable for a variety of uses. Other accommodation includes specialist equipment and plant rooms, storage space and full catering/canteen facilities.
The large control rooms could be used as hi-tech teaching spaces, operations rooms, call/control centres or dedicated emergency response spaces, and are well-suited to any occupier seeking well-specified, secure accommodation for immediate occupation.
Accessed through gate-houses, the buildings are fitted with CCTV and have say the agents diverse routeing of critical power and diesel powered standby generators fitted as standard. Other facilities include air-conditioning, fire suppression systems and rain water harvesting.
One of the centres already let in Fareham, Hampshire was selected by the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) as it was ready for occupation. John Morphew, MCA’s Assistant Director Asset Management, said “The control centre is a state of the art facility that will be at the heart of HM Coastguard operations for at least the next 20 years”.
The County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Authority is relocating its HQ functions and implementing a new, state of the art, emergency call handling and mobilising system at their new building in Durham.
John Hewitt, the authority’s Director of Corporate Resources said: “The building is a state of the art facility which provides a resilient base from which to provide our 999 control room and HQ functions. This building is central to our plans to modernise other parts of our estate as we look to continue to improve the services and facilities that are available in County Durham and Darlington.”
To turn the building into their HQ, alterations are being carried out that include an extension to the entrance of the existing building, installation of a second floor mezzanine with the provision of more windows and two new accommodation staircases.
The addition of a mezzanine floor in particular should prove of interest to prospective occupiers, the agents suggest, as it shows the versatility and flexibility of these buildings, with their suitability for a range of uses.
