Housing association’s new £1.6m HQ starts on site

BUILDING work has started in Clitheroe, Lancashire, for a new purpose-built headquarters for local housing association Ribble Valley Homes.

The £1.6m three-storey building has been designed by Croft Goode Architects and is being built in Station Road on land behind the Inn at the Station pub.

At present, Ribble Valley Homes is split between offices in York Street and King Lane, but the new building will accommodate all staff, as well as providing a drop-in centre for tenants and a community resource.

The new building, which will be a contemporary mix of glass, zinc and natural stone, will also provide parking spaces for staff and have access for the disabled.

Mick Goode, a director of Croft Goode Architects, said that although contemporary in design, the building’s stonework had been chosen to match the surrounding streetscape and the sawtooth roof design is a nod to the rich industrial heritage of the area.

“After detailed consultations with a wide variety of local stakeholders, we believe we have a design that will not only provide Ribble Valley Homes with high-quality office space, but also complement and enhance the historic surroundings,” he said.

Ribble Valley Borough Council’s planning and development committee gave approval for the site in April and the building should complete by next summer.

Since Ribble Valley Homes took over the control of council houses from Ribble Valley Borough Council two-and-a-half years ago, the housing association has invested around £4m in the estate – £2m of which has been spent in Clitheroe and its surrounding villages.

Managing director, Christine Grimshaw, said: “The work undertaken has included environmental work, re-roofing, new boilers, new kitchens and bathrooms and £200,000 of disabled adaptations to allow residents to feel safer and remain in their own homes.”