Daley Thompson opens Providence Place office development

The award-winning building at 1 Providence Place, West Bromwich, is a key part of BT's ongoing partnership with Sandwell Council.

Record-breaking decathlete Thompson, the BT London 2012 Ambassador, joined council leaders and school children for the opening of what is the first major office development in West Bromwich for more than 30 years.

Thompson also launched a competition for local schools, with tickets to the London 2012 Paralympics up for grabs. Winners will be announced in June to coincide with the Olympic Torch passing through three towns in Sandwell.

Council leader Councillor Darren Cooper said: "Working in partnership to attract inward investment is key to our regeneration programme, and the opening of this flagship BT building is at the very heart of that.

"Our partnership with BT has been a very positive experience for Sandwell and its staff. The opening of this building and the wider regeneration of West Bromwich illustrate what we can achieve thanks to partnerships like these."

Around 900 people will be based in the state-of-the-art four-storey business centre, including 400 employees of Transform Sandwell, the partnership between BT and the council delivering services to the local community.

BT has also chosen to base its new 300-strong customer service centre at the building. The first recruits have just started, with the recruitment continuing in phases over the coming months.

It will also be the new base of BT Expedite, which provides specialist technology services to major retailers. The team moved to Sandwell as part of plans to expand the 110-strong team.

1 Providence Place consists of 75,000 square feet of high quality office space and around 125 kilometres of communications cables have been installed - equivalent to the distance between Sandwell and London.

Gavin Patterson, BT Board member and chief executive of BT's Retail division, said: "These state-of-the-art offices are a giant leap forward for the West Midlands, creating much needed jobs and prosperity at a time of economic uncertainty. They show what can be achieved when the public and private sectors work together in partnership."

The business centre is part of the £75 million Providence Place development at the junction of the A41 Expressway and Cronehills Linkway in West Bromwich. It is central to the town's ongoing regeneration which includes plans for new shops and restaurants, a swimming pool, cinema, college, better transport links and improved green spaces.

More on Sandwell's plans for the Olympics and Paralympics at the Sandwell 2012 website.