A MAJOR shake up of Aviva's operations in York has been completed four years after plans to consolidate the business into two city centre offices were first mooted.

In 2010, after already moving staff from Clifton Moor into the city centre, the insurance firm, which has its Life division headquarters in York, announced 500 staff at Monks Cross would also be relocated within the city walls.

At the same time 300 staff from Roman House, in Rougier Street, were to be transferred into Yorkshire House and Wellington Row, in a move which would see the two offices become Aviva's only operational sites on York.

While the Roman House staff moved in 2010, the last 18 months have seen the Monks Cross based employees complete their relocation, creating a York centre 'campus' of 2,000 Aviva staff.

Both the Wellington Row and Yorkshire House offices have been refurbished as part of a new way of working across the Aviva business.

Angela Darlington, chief risk officer for Aviva’s York-based Life Insurance business in the UK, said: "We had capacity across our York sites and it was about making sure we were using our sites effectively and moving people into the city centre to get everyone in one place.

"It's been coming together over the last 18months after we realised we had the capacity to get everyone in the two buildings and the budget to make the move.

"Over that time, and across the Aviva business, we have been thinking about how people work, and how the space people work in affects how they work.

"We've created more collaborative places, it's all much more open plan. We've also incorporated more technology into the way people work. We've got video conferencing forums, reducing the need for people to travel to Norwich as they can have good quality meetings using the technology.

"We have found people are working together more. It's a sense of our commitment to people being together in the city centre and our commitment to York."

Initially Aviva planned to sublet its other offices before staff moved. However Roman House remained empty until being bought by York developer Skelwith Group, which is currently undertaking work to transform the building into 47 apartments.

The former Monk Cross office also remains empty.