East Kilbride Civic Centre

Municipal building in Cromarty, Scotland

East Kilbride Civic Centre

East Kilbride Civic Centre

Location| Cornwall Street, East Kilbride
Coordinates| 55°45′44″N 4°10′30″W﻿ / ﻿55.7622°N 4.1751°W﻿ / 55.7622; -4.1751
Built| 1968
Architect| Scott Fraser & Browning
Architectural style(s)| Brutalist style

Shown in South Lanarkshire

East Kilbride Civic Centre is a municipal building in Cornwall Street, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The structure was the headquarters of East Kilbride District Council.

## History

[edit]

East Kilbride Parish Chambers

In the early 20th century, the population of East Kilbride was less than 4,000.[1] The first municipal building there was the old parish chambers in Main Street which was designed in the style of a villa, built in sandstone and was completed in 1913.[2] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Main Street. The central bay featured a doorway with a stone surround, a keystone and a cornice surmounted by a panel inscribed with the words "Parish Council Chambers 1913"; on the first floor, there was a single window surmounted by a segmental pediment. The outer bays were fenestrated by tri-partite windows on the ground floor and by bi-partite windows with dormer heads on the first floor.[2]

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the development of the area as a new town, East Kilbride became a small burgh in 1963.[3] In this context, the burgh leaders decided to commission more substantial offices: the site they selected was open land within the new town development area.[4] The new building was designed by Scott Fraser & Browning, built by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts in concrete and glass and was officially opened by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, who was accompanied by the Earl of Snowdon, on 12 November 1968.[5][6][7]

The design involved a five-storey rectangular wing adjacent to Andrew Street with two lower rise structures extending eastwards behind the building. Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber, the district courtroom and an entertainments venue known as the Ballerup Hall which had a seating capacity of 300 people.[8] The hall was named after Ballerup, East Kilbride's twin town in Denmark.[9] A Wurlitzer concert organ with two manuals and ten pipe ranks was installed in the hall.[10]

Following local government re-organisation in 1975,[11] the building became the headquarters of the enlarged East Kilbride District Council, but it ceased to be the local seat of government when the new unitary authority, South Lanarkshire Council, was formed at Hamilton in 1996.[12][13] However, it continued to be used by South Lanarkshire Council as a base for the delivery of local services.[14] In February 2022, the council considered a masterplan for the town centre: options for the civic centre in the document included ongoing investment to restore the crumbling concrete on the building, or demolishing it and replacing it with a more modern civic structure.[15]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Timeline History of East Kilbride". Visitor UK. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
2. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland. "Parish Council Chambers, 96–98 Main Street, East Mains (LB48656)". Retrieved 10 September 2022.
3. ^ "East Kilbride Burgh". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
4. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1949. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
5. ^ "East Kilbride Civic Centre". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
6. ^ Niven, Bill (2015). East Kilbride From Old Photographs. Amberley Publishing. p. 153\. ISBN 978-1445648811.
7. ^ Glendinning, Miles (2019). History of Scottish Architecture. Edinburgh University Press. p. 593\. ISBN 978-1474468503.
8. ^ "Ballerup Hall". South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
9. ^ "Civic Centre, East Kilbride". Modern Mooch. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
10. ^ "Frank Olsen, East Kilbride, Scotland, Wurlitzer". Scottish Theatre Organ Preservation Society. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
11. ^ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
12. ^ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
13. ^ "East Kilbride". Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
14. ^ Niven 2015, p. 96. Amberley Publishing Limited. 15 September 2015. ISBN 9781445648811.
15. ^ "East Kilbride Civic Centre masterplan to go before council next month". Daily Record. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.