Morgan Sindall Investments' long term partnership with Slough Borough Council has successfully delivered their new flagship new library and cultural centre - The Curve.
The development was built by Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure, as part of Slough Urban Renewal’s (SUR) redevelopment and transformation of the area. It provides residents with a fantastic 4,500 sq m facility, which incorporates a library, cultural space, Registrar’s office, a theatre and performance space and other civic amenities.
The grand opening was a two-day festival on 2 and 3 September with a range of activities taking place in The Curve, along the High Street and in the Town Square. SUR sponsored the event and it was a massive success attracting a huge amount of local interest and publicity. The Council’s Facebook page reached 73,000 people and over the two days more than 1800 positive comments were made by visitors (91% of those surveyed). In the first week 5000 books were loaned out from the Curve compared to 11,000 for the whole of July at the Old Library.
Andy Howell, SUR General Manager, said “it is a major achievement to deliver this fantastic new building for the residents of Slough. It is architecturally striking from the outside and provides great facilities so we are delighted to be having a positive impact on the town’s regeneration”
Delivering great facilities for the city
James York, Morgan Sindall area director, who oversaw the completion of the scheme, said: “We’re delighted to have completed work on this landmark project for SUR. The Curve is a brilliant community centre that brings together a number of facilities under one roof and we look forward to seeing the building in use by the public.”
The Old Library, opposite the Curve, is now due for demolition and SUR is developing proposals for two hotels, 60 apartments and ground floor retail in this key town centre location. It was discovered just recently that Morgan Sindall has a history of delivering great facilities for the community in Slough. In 1974, William Sindall Limited completed the now Old Library at the cost of more than £400,000. At the time, the library was considered ‘the most modern, well-equipped and well-stocked library in the county’.
William Sindall plc was acquired by Morgan Lovell in 1994, the company was renamed Morgan Sindall plc and floated on the London Stock Exchange. Today Morgan Sindall Group plc is a leading UK construction and regeneration group with revenue of over £2.4 billion and which operates through six divisions of construction and infrastructure, fit out, property services, partnership housing, urban regeneration and investments.
