Westminster City Council has handed Willmott Dixon a £36m main works contract to restore its historic 1930s Grade II listed Seymour Centre in Marylebone.
Willmott Dixon will provide a complete restoration of the three-storey centre, refurbishing sports facilities, putting a new gym in the basement and providing a permanent home for the Marylebone Library over two floors.
The air circulation and ventilation of the building will also be improved, and new studio spaces and leisure facilities for spin, aerobics and other classes will also be provided.
The refurbishment of the main five-court sports hall will see new flooring installed to make it more accessible for wheelchair users. Additionally, the pool will become more accessible with the installation of a pool pod.
Work is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
The scheme has been designed by Make Architects, with Hadron Consulting as project manager. The contract was procured via the SCF framework.
This is the latest in a series of projects by Willmott Dixon for Westminster City Council over the past decade. Earlier this year, it was appointed for the Westmead development to build 65 new affordable homes on Tavistock Road, and during the summer it completed a further 112 new homes on 300 Harrow Road. Previously it built Dudley House, providing 197 affordable homes in Paddington.
Stewart Brundell, Willmott Dixon’s managing director for in North London and Eastern Homes Counties, said, “We’re delighted to be extending our nearly decade-long relationship with Westminster City County to provide an exciting new future for the popular and historic Seymour Centre. We’ll be deploying our specific heritage property restoration skills to rejuvenate the centre as a place serving the community for many generations to come, as well as helping to meet the council’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2030 with improvements to heating, temperature and ventilation in the refurbished centre that will reduce carbon emissions.”
