Brent’s award-winning Civic Centre opened in 2013, replacing the former headquarters at Brent Town Hall. The building attracts thousands of visitors each year who come to speak to customer services, get married, register births and deaths, study, socialise and more.
>As one of the greenest public buildings in the country, it uses 70% less energy, saving money and protecting the environment, and it brings all our services under one roof.
Since the building first opened, we have been regularly checking how people use the building to ensure it continues to be a welcoming space creating a positive experience for all visitors.
Customer Access review
Since the Covid pandemic, more residents access our services online and face-to-face support is being prioritised for residents with the most complex need.
In 2021, we launched a review to improve the way customers and residents access our services in the Civic Centre to respond to the changing needs of those using the building.
We received feedback from over 500 residents, staff focus groups, workshops and surveys.
As a result of this consultation, we will be making some changes to the building to improve the customer experience.
The key layout changes
The redesign will see changes to Wembley Library, the Customer Services Centre on the ground floor and the mezzanine floors.
The benefits will include:
- A new Welcome Desk to help visitors and customers get to the right place
- A new welcoming main entrance to the building on Exhibition Way by Sainsbury
- Fully utilised customer-facing spaces equipped with self-help screens
- A repurposed mezzanine floor with a flexible and multi-use enclosed Children’s Library, more study spaces and an expanded Brent Hub - this will create a better service for our customers, partners and all staff from libraries, customer services and hubs who will be able to work more collaboratively
- A private Family Room for confidential meetings
- Improved temperature control in the Atrium
- The building will be more accessible for visitors with wheelchairs, pushchairs, and complex needs
- A dedicated digital area to support residents and visitors
As part of the project, office spaces will also be rented out to other organisations, bringing in additional income that we can put back into protecting our frontline services.
The project will cost £2million. This project will pay for itself in the long term with greater customer experience and additional income.
Building work will begin in summer 2023 and is scheduled to be completed by December 2023. Thank you in advance for your patience and we apologise for any inconvenience caused in the meantime.