New Forest District Council Town Hall Gets the Elite Treatment from Spectus Windows

Published: 2nd June 2011

New Forest District Council Town Hall, in the Georgian market town of Lymington, is the latest building in the country to be refurbished using Spectus Window Systems’ Elite 70 profile. Spectus fabricator and installer, South Western Windows, completed the renovation project using the company’s flagship PVC-U profile in a job which took just four-and-a-half weeks. The refurbishment of the windows in the Town Hall was part of an overall upgrade of the building to ensure future health and safety compliance, to improve the thermal efficiency of the building and to reduce the maintenance needs of the property. The work has been completed in advance of a further office refurbishment project which will result in part of the building becoming the new headquarters for the New Forest National Park. Karl Quick from South Western Windows describes the work his company undertook: “We received the order just before Christmas and firstly recommended a design change from the original specification for both aesthetic and cost saving reasons. The team at New Forest District Council agreed with our recommendations and we were able to then manufacture the Spectus windows in under three weeks before beginning the installation on site. “The Town Hall is constantly full of activity as all the rooms are in use and are busy working offices. For this reason we stuck rigidly to a programme of work which we had planned out in advance to minimise the impact on the busy office staff. Thanks to the help of site officer Brian Butcher – who was extremely supportive – as well as all the staff on site, we were able to stick to the installation plan and complete the project on time. The whole team ensured that what could have been a potentially challenging job was delivered very successfully all round.” The Spectus Elite 70 system, used typically in a full range of window, door and conservatory parts, was ideal for the refurbishment project due to its multi chambered profile, which provides increased thermal efficiency. During the decision making process it was recognised that the Spectus Elite 70 system can be combined to create a diverse range of window styles proving to be ideal for this type of project. Chris Dathan, building surveyor at New Forest District Council, concludes: “The Town Hall building is almost 50 years old has over 3500 m² of office space. The building is home to some of the Council’s most important departments, and soon the National Park Authority (NPA) staff will move in. “It’s important that we provide staff and visitors with a warm and safe environment, while ensuring we undertake work which is cost-effective and timely. The contemporary windows will protect against thermal heat loss which in turn reduces carbon emissions and will lower our heating bills. They will also ensure the maintenance team is free to focus on getting the interior offices ready for the new team moving in.” For more information about the Spectus Elite 70 system visit www.spectus.co.uk, email info@spectus.co.uk or phone 0800 328 5273.