New Ecclesiastical HQ completed

Despite the restrictions that have been in place throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction and fit out of the new office building has been completed with minimal delay and essential staff have now moved into the Gloucester Business Park site.

Ecclesiastical, which has been based in Gloucester since the 1970s, has strong links to the city and as part of an ongoing commitment to remaining in the Gloucester area along with Arlington secured planning permission for the offices in 2018.

Work began in May 2019 and the new office, which has been named Benefact House, provides the business with a modern and healthy working environment along with 500 parking spaces for employees and visitors and will accommodate all of the firm’s Gloucester-based teams.

The offices have been built to BREEAM standards, a sustainability assessment which looks at the building’s performance and environmental factors such as electric car charging points and solar panels, which have been installed on the roof of the building.

The interior of the building has been fitted out by leading specialists Overbury, who have helped to create a modern office space to support how the business works in the future and taking into account the UK Government’s guidance on social distancing.

The office space meets FitWel standard, a framework which focuses on creating a healthy workplace, including plants throughout the offices to oxygenate the air, natural lighting, a variety of flexible work spaces and healthy options at the staff restaurant.

As well as ensuring colleagues enjoy a modern and spacious office space, the specialist insurance and financial services company has worked closely with Hucclecote Parish Council and housing developers to improve the local environment with further plans to install a fitness trail and benches for the local community.

Caroline Taplin, group HR director at Ecclesiastical and project sponsor, said: “I am absolutely delighted that our new Gloucester office has been completed.

“Despite colleagues having moved to home working incredibly effectively it is by no means the norm. A physical space will continue to play a crucial role in how we work going forward and we have been able to look at how flexible working may look in the future and bring elements of this into the design.

“It is a fantastic achievement to have completed the project, particularly given the challenges of working in a COVID-19 secure way. A huge thank you to everyone who has worked on the project – including our partners Arlington, Kier Construction, BDG Architects, Max Fordham, Northcote and Overbury for helping us to creating a vibrant, modern, spacious and social environment for our colleagues to thrive in.”

Work continues on the clearance of the Ecclesiastical’s former offices at Beaufort House, its home since the 1970s, by the end of the financial year.