January 9 2025

Falkirk Council has hailed the 'transformational' impact a new civic centre could have on the economy and tourism of the town.

The authority has published new concept images of its plans to create a new civic complex at Callendar Square in the heart of Falkirk, featuring a theatre, auditorium and library as well as housing council services.

Pitched as the lynchpin of broader regeneration of the High Street, the plans have been hit by significant cost inflation since they were first broached in 2019, with the build cost now put at £62.84m with a further £5m reserved in a contingency fund and £2m for public realm improvements.

Malcolm Bennie, director of place services at Falkirk Council, said: "The new Falkirk Town Hall is the key to unlocking lasting regeneration of the town centre by adding significant new footfall to the high street, as well as securing the recently agreed £148m Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal.

“The venue would provide a regional home for creative productions like touring theatre, music and popular comedians, create an accessible environment for the civic functions of the Council, host a stunning new library and learning hub for all ages, and a modern café and bar area for the general public to gather."

An opening date of mid-2028 has been set for the complex, subject to additional efforts to identify cost-savings in the finalised design by the cash-strapped local authority.

Should councillors sign off on the revised construction costs work a full business case for the town hall will be prepared for approval in 2025/26. No architect has been appointed at this stage.

6 Comments

#1 Posted by Sabrina Carprinter on 9 Jan 2025 at 23:13 PM

One of the things that disappoints me about media in our industry is how we do not credit the hard work that goes into design like this. No mention of the architect involved in producing the design shown. A little respect needed regardless of what you think of the design

#2 Posted by Dandy Don on 10 Jan 2025 at 09:06 AM

This new Aberdeen Stadium looks fantastic. The community stadium with associated leisure facilities would deliver more than £1billion plus into the local economy over the next fifty years, just not sure why it has been relocated so far away from Aberdeen city centre, ie:, to Falkirk?

#3 Posted by Sven on 10 Jan 2025 at 10:29 AM

The design is ok if it was an out of town college, like the new Falkirk college. This is a historic area of Falkirk and the design totally ignores that. I’ll skip the utterly ridiculous tourist attraction side (no one comes to Scotland for modern architecture) and location is very poor for a theatre, this feels more like something for Cumbernauld or Irvine design wise.

The council should restore the townscape to housing in that area with traditional buildings and build a “town hall” to the design above down the street in the grass land at Bellvue.

This is Falkirk’s last chance at reviving its dead town centre and the location and design is a failure combined.

#4 Posted by Sandra on 10 Jan 2025 at 15:10 PM

It does not fit in with the rest of the buildings in the area sticks out like a sore thumb and does nothing to enhance the town centre

#5 Posted by Gordon on 10 Jan 2025 at 17:50 PM

Historically, town halls were designed to stick out like a sore thumb. They were/are blatant opportunities for councils to advertise their success and boost their local image. While this may be a less appropriate sentiment these days, the images shown here illustrate an altogether underwhelming sense of ambition. The proposal shouts Falkirk...meh?

#6 Posted by Roddy_ on 11 Jan 2025 at 13:05 PM

This seems to exemplify a number of mistakes that local councils having been making across Scotland ; a kind of repeated meme error. It comes from knocking down disruptive fabric in towns with granular plot structures and then replacing that fabric with a structure that is equally disruptive. Not only that we're seeing a number of authorities become enamoured with the idea of the co-location of services to save money on rent. This has a big knock-on effect such as is happening in Parkhead, Glasgow where the local library is now to be housed withing the new health centre. Seems like a great idea, untill you realise that you now have yet another stranded heritage asset-the now former B-listed library- something Glasgow can ill afford at present. It is funny to see that this idea of a 'civic centre' still has traction in the minds of planners. It is an outmoded and outdated idea that comes essentially from the New Towns where it has a less than glowing reputation. It would be better to sub-divide the large plot into smaller plots under a masterplan and allow buildings to be brought forward as separate entities as and when required. This is nothing new. It is how practically all premodern towns in Scotland evovled. This builds in the resilience of adaptability that is missing from the lumbering and expasive civic footprints of the 60's and 70s. The current crop of replacement civic centres from Dumbarton to Cumbernauld are merely repeating the mistakes of the past where change over time is virtually impossible without massive disruption.

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