Voreda House Expected to Finally be Completed Next Month

Councillors were given an update on the Voreda House project on this week during the Eden Locality board meeting held at Penrith Town hall officers updated councillors on a The £8.3 million pound Voreda House project that aims to consolidate the Council office accommodation space in Penrith into a modern and sustainable building that meets PassivHaus energy efficiency standards. 

The project is forecast to finally be complete in May 2024, The Voreda House redevelopment was started by the former Eden council intended to be a new single site headquarters for the now defunct council that expected the building to be completed by September 2022. The initial budget has spiralled with the current costs forecast to be £8.3million.

Councillors were given a look around the building on Thursday morning to see the final stages of work in the controversial building that will now form council office space for Westmorland and Furness Council and will host a range of services, many of which council officers said will be public facing once the building opens, now expected to be the end of May 2024.

The building is estimated to deliver the council an 85% energy savings, but the actual savings will not be known by the council until at least 2025 officers told councillors on Wednesday evening.

Westmorland and Furness Council launched an internal audit review of the Voreda House project in November with a report into the delayed £8.3 millon Voreda House project originally expected to be completed by January but the audit review and report had itself been delayed.

The opening of Voreda House will see staff move from Penrith Town Hall and Mansion House. No update on the future of Mansion House or the councils plans for Penrith Town Hall were given in the officers update but details of the councils portfolio of corporate property it now owns across the Westmoreland and Furness District that includes:

• 69 council-maintained (community, voluntary controlled and foundation) schools

• 44 public conveniences

• 19 libraries

• 11 day centres

• 10 residential care homes

• six leisure centres

• four county and town halls

• 434 separate parcels of public open space and amenity land (e.g. community woodland, public parks, playgrounds and playing fields)

• 85 car parks

• 28 allotment and smallholding sites