Ceredigion County Council's new office complex at Llanbadarn Fawr will be officially today (Wednesday). The new offices, named Canolfan Rheidol, will be opened by the Chairman of Ceredigion County Council, Councillor J. Ivor Williams.

Subsequent to the official opening ceremony on 9 September 2009, Ceredigion County Council will be moving services and staff into Canolfan Rheidol. Ceredigion County Council's Departments of Finance, Social Services, Education and Community Services, Environmental Services and Housing, Highways Property and Works, will be moving in to Canolfan Rheidol as well as the Registrar for North Ceredigion. Service delivery at existing locations of Ceredigion County Council offices moving to Canolfan Rheidol will be phased out towards the end of September 2009.

Canolfan Rheidol will offer the public improved access to a range of County Council services previously delivered from separate buildings around the town of Aberystwyth. The new building will offer greater efficiency and accessibility to services and a more integrated workplace for over 400 Ceredigion County Council employees.

Canolfan Rheidol achieves almost 50% better carbon emission savings than other modern buildings. It also optimises minimum energy use in having U-values at least 20% lower than currently required by building regulations. Renewable energy technologies have been installed including a wind turbine which generates 6kW, solar panels to preheat domestic water and connection to a biomass district heating system fueled with wood chips. Canolfan Rheidol has achieved an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of 'B' and has a Carbon footprint of 14.9 kg/CO2/m2 per annum.

Canolfan Rheidol's ‘green’ building credentials enabled obtaining grant funding of £313,000 from the Low Carbon Building Programme of the Energy Saving Trust. Canolfan Rheidol is also on target to receive an ‘Excellent’ rating under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).

The main contractor for construction of the Canolfan Rheidol project was Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd, of Cardiff. Ceredigion's Canolfan Rheidol Project Team was led by the County Council's Director of Finance, Mr Gwyn Jones BSc FCCA, with Mr Paul Evans acting as the Willmott Dixon Operations Manager for the Canolfan Rheidol project.

Powell Dobson Architects, of Cardiff, acted as architectural consultants to the main contractor with the Clarke Bond Group, of Bristol, acting as structural engineering consultants and Hoare Lea of Cardiff acting as mechanical and electrical engineering consultants. The project contract value was £15m and involved a construction programme of 70 weeks. The project has been completed on time and on budget.

Public access to certain Ceredigion County Council services will remain to be offered at existing locations in and around Aberystwyth and Llanbadarn Fawr. Those include the Ceredigion Museum, the Aberystwyth Library, the Aberystwyth Tourist Information Centre, the Ceredigion Archives Service, Hyfforddiant Ceredigion Training and the Highways, Property and Works Depot at Llanbadarn Fawr.

The new Canolfan Rheidol building was born out of Ceredigion County Council's office accommodation strategy, "At Eich Gwasanaeth", adopted in December 2000. Canolfan Rheidol represents the third phase of that strategy's implementation. The previous two phases included office extensions at Neuadd Cyngor Ceredigion, Penmorfa, Aberaeron, at Minaeron, Aberaeron; establishment of a new Depot Office at Glanyrafon, Llanbadaran Fawr, and substantial refurbishment of the County Hall at Aberaeron.