Norwich Townshend House 'digital hub' to open in spring

The refurbishment of Townshend House, once home to the regional headquarters of ITV, is nearing completion after years in the works. 

It is one of the Labour-led authority's eight Town Deal projects, which saw £25m investment from central government, but has nevertheless hit significant financial hurdles. 

However, the council has managed to plug its funding gaps and confirmed the centre is set to open in the spring. 

Townshend House in Norwich (Image: Eleanor Storey) The scheme aims to provide new offices for start-up tech businesses that could create space for up to 25 companies and bring in 200 jobs. 

The price tag of the project quickly rose beyond the initial £2.78m estimate to £3.18m, meaning City Hall had to redistribute its Town Deal funding to cover the costs.

New estimates for the cost of refurbishment works stand at around £3.7m. 

The council has also spent approximately £245,000 on business rates, utilities, security and maintenance contracts while the scheme has been in the pipeline. 

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The building was formerly home to ITV (Image: Eleanor Storey) A council spokesman said: "We successfully secured £25m worth of government money to invest in our amazing city which has helped redevelop Townshend House and seven other key projects for Norwich which will deliver real benefits for the city, meaning new jobs, homes and skills for our residents.

"The money spent on these fantastic projects is worth every penny of investment to help secure our city’s prosperity, particularly when faced with unprecedented demands for local services and with so many local councils effectively going bankrupt.

"The new digital hub at Townshend House is set to be opened in the spring and will be managed by IWG, the world’s largest provider of hybrid working solutions, and will be a fantastic asset for the city and will help us in our drive to make Norwich a digital and creative powerhouse."