THE former general offices of Ebbw Vale steelworks is set to re-open after a £12 million restoration.

The Grade II listed building has been renovated as part of Blaenau Gwent council’s multi-million pound redevelopment project at The Works in Ebbw Vale.

The building will be used to house the Gwent Records Office (GRO), The Works Archive Trust and a genealogy and visitor centre called 3000 degrees – The Valleys Genealogy and Heritage Experience.

A report due to go before Blaenau Gwent’s executive committee today says renovation of the building’s north wing – where the GRO will be housed – is nearing completion. It proposes re-opening the 1920s building in two stages.

The report recommends that the north wing housing andGRO is opened this month, while the south wing, comprising the genealogy visitors’ centre, will open later in the 2011/2012 financial year.

General offices manager and report author Angharad Collins said the tender for the 10kms of shelving needed for the GRO’s archive storage has now been awarded, and that the north wing’s first and second floors are awaiting the final touches.

TheGROoffice is being relocated from County Hall in Cwmbran.

It is one of the largest archives in Wales and will take around three months to transfer.

The visitor centre in the south wing is waiting to be fitted out, but will be opened later this year if the executive committee approves the recommendations.

The general offices were first completed in 1920 and used as the administrative building for Ebbw Vale Steelworks.

The report added: “By endorsing a two-phase opening of the general offices, the local authority will maximise the opportunities within the visitor market for marketing and publicity with a number of positive stories, and will enhance the promotion of Blaenau Gwent as a visitor destination.”