Willmott Dixon Expands Heritage Restoration With Westminster Project

Willmott Dixon is continuing its long-term relationship with Westminster City Council with a £36m project to restore the historic 1930s Grade II listed Seymour Centre in Marylebone.

Procured via the SCF framework, Willmott Dixon will provide a complete restoration of the three-storey centre, delivering a refurbished swimming pool, new sports hall and open plan gym, café and a permanent home for the Marylebone Library over two floors.

The upgrade to the five-court sports hall will also see new flooring installed to make it more accessible for wheelchair users. Additionally, the pool will become more accessible with the installation of a pool pod. Scheduled to be completed in 2026, the modern new Seymour Centre will deliver a facility that can be fully utilised by the local community, with dedicated space for children and families, an upgraded climbing centre, expanded soft play area, and additional space for buggy parking.

Willmott Dixon has teamed up with MAKE Architects and Hadron Consulting as project manager to undertake the modernisation.

This is the latest in a series of projects by Willmott Dixon for the council over the past decade. Earlier this year, it was appointed for the Westmead development to build 65 new affordable homes on Tavistock Road, and during the summer it completed a further 112 new homes on 300 Harrow Road. Previously it built Dudley House (below), providing 197 affordable homes in Paddington.

On the Seymour Centre, Councillor David Boothroyd, Cabinet Member for Finance and Council Reform at Westminster City Council, said: 

“Our Seymour Centre refurbishment is an incredibly exciting project that will create not just a leisure centre; but a new library and community space in Marylebone for all our residents to enjoy. It will greatly improve the quality of facilities on offer, creating more opportunities for our residents to become, and stay active."

Stewart Brundell, managing director for Willmott Dixon in North London and Eastern Homes Counties, added:

“We’re delighted to be extending our nearly decade-long relationship with Westminster City County to provide an exciting new future for the popular and historic Seymour Centre."

"We’ll be deploying our specific heritage property restoration skills to rejuvenate the centre as a place serving the community for many generations to come, as well as helping to meet the council’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2030 with improvements to heating, temperature and ventilation in the refurbished centre that will reduce carbon emissions.”

James Wright, SCF senior framework manager said:

“We are delighted to see the positive long-term relationship continue between Willmott Dixon and Westminster City Council. The restoration of the Seymour Centre not only preserves a significant piece of heritage but also enhances community facilities for generations to come.”