Vodafone World Headquarters

Vodafone World Headquarters
Site in April 2008
Vodafone World Headquarters is located in Berkshire
Vodafone World Headquarters
Location within Berkshire
General information
TypeTelecommunications headquarters
AddressShaw-cum-Donnington, Berkshire, RG14 2FN
Coordinates51°24′58″N 1°19′08″W / 51.416°N 1.319°W / 51.416; -1.319
Elevation80 m (262 ft)
Current tenantsVodafone
Construction started2000
Completed2003
ClientVodafone
Dimensions
Other dimensions30 acres
Technical details
Structural systemTensile fabric canopy
Floor area51,600 sq metres
Design and construction
Architecture firmFletcher Priest Architects
Structural engineerBuro Happold
Services engineerCundall

The Vodafone World Headquarters is the main headquarters of Vodafone within the UK.

History

In 1999, Vodafone became the world's largest mobile telecommunications company, and the UK's third-largest public company.

Vodafone decided to move to the site in 1997. In April 1999, the local council was going to refuse outline planning permission for Vodafone to build its headquarters on the site as it was a greenfield development. But, the council planning committee decided on Tuesday 27 April 1999 not to refuse, as Vodafone had threatened to leave the area altogether, and the council wanted the 3,000 jobs and had acknowledged long-term financial generosity given to local sport clubs and charities by the company.[1] The decision was passed by 10 Liberal Democrat councillors on West Berkshire Council voting with the Conservative group. The Liberal Democrats had asked Vodafone to include a £5m housing proposal, which Vodafone refused. The Liberal Democrat council leader resigned after the decision, but was later persuaded to stay.[2] The land was owned by Genevieve Fairhurst, the wife of Conservative MEP Graham Mather. West Berkshire Council has been Conservative-controlled since 2006.

The site received full planning permission in early April 2000, and construction began soon after. At the time of opening, Vodafone was the largest mobile phone company in the world. The site would be called the Vodafone World Headquarters.

The site flooded on 20 July 2007.[3][4]

The global headquarters was moved to One Kingdom Street in west London in October 2009, having been built in December 2008.

Construction

The £160m whole contract was awarded in mid-April 2000. The construction itself cost £80m.

There were seven buildings connected by tension fabric canopies, built by Architen of Chepstow.[5] The seven buildings have around 9,000 square metres each.

Visits

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the site on Friday 14 November 2008.[6] She met Guy Laurence, the head of Vodafone UK.

The Prime Minister visited the site at 2.30pm on Thursday 3 April 2014; he had been to Manchester and Birmingham on the same day.[7][8]

Structure

The site had around 3,000 staff, situated on the M4 corridor. There are seven cafes and a restaurant. There is an on-site full-time doctor.

Nearby to the south is Trinity School.

Research

All of Vodafone's telecommunications research for the UK takes place on the site. Vodafone have a digital hub in central London, employing 1000 staff.

Network Operations Centre

The NOC monitors the national and international demand on the Vodafone UK network. It has four full-time guides to show visitors around the NOC. A screen can show every text and voice call made across the Vodafone UK network.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Reading Evening Post Monday 12 April 1999, page 7
  2. ^ Reading Evening Post Tuesday 11 May 1999, page 13
  3. ^ BBC. "Flooding in Berkshire". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  4. ^ Contributor (2007-07-25). "Floods in U.K. Force Vodafone to Evacuate HQ". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-04-21. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Tensile fabric project
  6. ^ Times, Saturday 15 November 2008, page 92
  7. ^ ITV April 2014
  8. ^ Visit in 2014
  9. ^ Times Monday 11 July 2011, page 41

• Vodafone UK sites