Planning application submitted for new weather centre HQ

The Government Property Agency (GPA) has submitted a planning application to Wokingham Borough Council for a new state-of-the-art headquarters for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) at the University of Reading’s Whiteknights campus.

The new headquarters will house a research institute as well as 24/7 operational services, producing and disseminating global numerical weather prediction to its member states. The new designs feature cross-disciplinary workspaces, a conference centre, council chamber, interactive weather room and central atrium.

The addition of the new headquarters on the Earley Gate side of the University’s campus, off Whiteknights Road, will create the largest cluster of weather and climate scientists in the world, together with the University's Department of Meteorology, which hosts parts of the UK Met Office, NERC National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences and NERC National Centre for Earth Observation.

The University of Reading has a longstanding relationship with ECMWF, its scientists having worked together for decades on cutting-edge science, including weather and climate simulations, and training programmes for early career researchers.

The new headquarters project is funded by the UK Government through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Designed to industry-leading net zero carbon standards the project will be assessed under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the most established method for assessing the sustainability of buildings. The proposed headquarters is targeting an ‘Excellent’ rating with aspirations of reaching ‘Outstanding’, the highest possible sustainability rating achievable through BREEAM.

The planning application for the ECMWF headquarters is now available to view on the Wokingham Borough Council website.

Clive Anderson, Director of Projects at GPA, said: “The GPA is delighted to have submitted the planning application for this new state-of-the-art culturally significant project.

“The GPA team has been working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Mace Construction to develop the submission and deliver a modern accessible, sustainable building.”