| Bexley Civic Offices | |
|---|---|
 Bexley Civic Offices | |
  Bexley Civic Offices Location within London Borough of Bexley | |
| General information | |
| Location | Bexleyheath,London |
| Coordinates | 51°27′20″N0°09′13″E / 51.4556°N 0.1537°E /51.4556; 0.1537 |
| Inaugurated | 1989 |
| Renovated | 2014 |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect(s) | Bennetts Associates |
| Renovating firm | Mace |
TheBexley Civic Offices is a municipal facility in Watling Street,Bexleyheath, London. It is the headquarters of theBexley London Borough Council.
The new Bexley Urban District Council established offices in an early 19th century building on the south side of the Broadway in Bexleyheath known as Oak House in 1903.[1] After Bexley securedmunicipal borough status in 1932, Oak House remained the headquarters of the newMunicipal Borough of Bexley until it was merged with theMunicipal Borough of Erith to form theLondon Borough of Bexley with its new headquarters atErith Town Hall in 1965.[2] The new council only used Erith Town Hall briefly as it chose to demolish Oak House in 1979 to make way for purpose-built Civic Offices which opened on the same site on the south side of theBroadway in 1980.[1]
The facility at Watling Street, which was designed in the style of apagoda and built as the head office of theWoolwich Building Society at a cost of £10.5 million,[3] was officially opened byPrincess Anne in 1989.[4] FollowingBarclays' acquisition of the building society in 2000 and a subsequent period of integration, the Watling Street building became vacant in 2005.[5]
Meanwhile,Bexley London Borough Council was seeking new facilities to replace its aging Civic Offices on the south side of the Broadway.[6] The Watling Street building was refurbished byMace at a cost of £21.4 million to a design byBennetts Associates.[7][8] The works included alterations to facilitateopen plan working and also involved the construction of a new building at the rear of the site to accommodate a council chamber, a council member's area and public galleries.[9] Some 1,300 council staff, who were previously based in four separate locations in the borough,[10] moved into the new Bexley Civic Offices in May 2014.[3][11] It was officially opened by theMayor of London,Boris Johnson, in October 2014.[12]
In January 2021, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, the civic offices were used as a site to carry outCOVID-19 testing.[13] Beginning in June, the offices were also used as a clinic to give outCOVID-19 vaccines.[14][15]