Harrow Civic Centre

Harrow Urban District Council, which was formed in 1934, initially established itself at council offices in Peel Road in Wealdstone.[1] However, after its responsibilities increased, having become a municipal borough in 1954 and a London borough in 1965, it sought larger premises and moved to a private residence known as Harrow Weald Lodge.[2][3][4] After this arrangement became inadequate for their needs, civic leaders decided to procure a purpose-built civic centre: the site selected in Station Road had previously been occupied by a primary school and a builder's yard.[5]

Construction on the new building, which was undertaken by F.G. Minter, started on 2 July 1970.[6] The new building was designed by Eric G. Broughton and was officially opened by the mayor, Alderman Henry Gange, on 6 May 1973.[7] The design involved a six-storey square concrete-framed structure with 30 bays on each side; the bays contained a window on each floor flanked by concrete slabs; there was a landscaped courtyard in the centre of the building.[7] The council chamber was contained in an entirely separate structure built to the north east of the main building; it was connected to the main building by a bridge structure containing a large glass decorative screen made by Whitefriars Glass.[7]

The "Kodak Mural", a composite creation of nearly 1,000 tiles bearing Harrow-related photographs, which was designed by Pentagram and made by Kenneth Clark Ceramics, was installed on the first floor landing in 1974.[8]

In April 2004, Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the civic centre as part of the celebrations in respect of the 50th anniversary of the borough's royal charter.[9]

In October 2014, as part of its regeneration strategy, the council announced proposals to move its headquarters to a more modern facility in Wealdstone and to release the civic centre site for residential use.[10] However, in March 2019, it indicated that there would be delays[11] and, in July 2019, the council decided to find a regeneration partner to help to expedite the development.[12] In September 2020 the council indicated that it had identified that partner although the name of the partner was not revealed.[13]