Civic Centre designated as listed building
North Lanarkshire Council’s headquarters has been designated as a listed building - even though the authority itself registered an objection to the new status.
The 1960s Civic Centre is now categorised as a B-listed structure by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), as it is considered to be of “special architectural or historic interest” as a major and relatively rare unaltered example of the country’s post-war Modernist civic architecture.
Experts also highlighted “its exceptional design by an important Scottish architect”, and called it a “key landmark” which makes a “cultural contribution to our understanding of civic life, society and local governance in Scotland in the 20th century”.
B-listed status now applies to the entire complex - consisting of the council’s six-storey headquarters and projecting circular council chamber, concert hall and theatre building, adjoining office blocks and clock tower - and means that the structure is protected and could not be altered or demolished without listed building consent.
However, the designation excludes office interiors and later additions of fire escapes including the glazed tower added to the side of the chamber, after North Lanarkshire’s consultation response highlighted “issues about the special interest value of the building and details of exclusions to be applied”.
Members of the council’s planning committee were told in a report for their latest virtual meeting: “A proposal to designate Motherwell Civic Centre was received by HES in early 2019; [they then] carried out the required site visit and consultation, culminating in the structure being designated with B-listed status on December 2.
“The council responded to the consultation to object to the proposed listing; however, this was unsuccessful.”
It added: “The listing of the structure may have an impact in terms of ongoing costs to maintain the special character of the building.”
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “Following HES’s proposal to list the civic centre complex, the council commissioned a heritage review of the facility to provide advice on the listing proposal and inform a response.
“While we accepted that the complex met the category B listing criteria, we raised issues about the special interest value of the building and details of exclusions to be applied to parts of the complex, which could affect the longterm use of the building.”
The new HES listing tells how North Lanarkshire’s civic centre was designed by noted architect Peter Williams of Wylie, Shanks and Partners in the early 1960s and was the winner from 63 entries submitted to a trend-setting nationwide designed competition.
It was built over five years from 1964 by contractors Whatlings (Buildings) Ltd, and housed various burgh departments, committee rooms and
“an apartment for the Provost”; with the council chamber hosting its first meeting in January 1969 and the concert hall and theatre opening the following year.
HES note: “The centre has remained a headquarters of local government in North Lanarkshire over 50 years of continuous use; [it] is a major example of post-war Modernist architectural design, incorporating many of the movement’s fundamental design principles.”
A m o n g t h e s e a re t h e “sp at i a l arrangement of architectural components [and] consistent and obvious use of building components in glass, concrete and steel”.
HES added: “The prominent placing of the council debating chamber near the roadside signifies its functional importance.
“The concert hall and civic theatre’s w ide, glazed per imeter cor r idor, enveloping the two auditoriums, is a good expression of Modernist design principles.In the years after the Second World War, as newly-formed local authorities were charged with the task of rebuilding and regenerating their town centres, they became important patrons of new architecture.
Many civic centres built between 1948 and 1980 have been demolished in recent years [and] elsewhere in Scotland, this type of building has been found to be extensively altered - [North Lanarkshire’s] is one of a very small number of major civic commissions of architectural distinction in Scotland which survive largely intact.”