Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust has commissioned Henry Brothers, a Midlands-based contractor to deliver the new £15m Belper health centre building.
The new building is being delivered through the Pagabo Major Works Framework and the planned construction phase is 66 weeks.
John Sowter, Design and Planning Director at Henry Brothers Construction, said: “We are very pleased to have started work on site, marking a key milestone in the mission to provide new, state-of-the-art community health services in Belper.”
The new building is being delivered through the Pagabo Major Works Framework
“It was an honour to host members of the Trust who have been pivotal in developing this scheme to an official turf-cutting ceremony and we are looking forward to delivering these new NHS facilities for the community of Belper,” Sowter concluded.
Other members of the construction team alongside Henry Brothers include project manager Capita, civil and structural engineer Eastwood Consulting Engineers, and mechanical and electrical engineers EP Consulting.
Race Cottam Associates, an architectural practice, designed the new building, which will be located on the site of the former Belper Clinic, part of the Babington Hospital site on Derby Road, Belper in Derbyshire.
The planned construction phase is 66 weeks
Henry Brothers Construction and Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust jointly held a turf-cutting ceremony to mark the start of work on the new build.
The event was attended by representatives from Henry Brothers and the Trust, including Trust Chief Executive Tracy Allen, who carried out the honours. She said: “Back in 2017 we first started talking publicly about the need for new community health facilities for Belper and it’s been a long and eventful seven years to reach this point, involving several changes of plan and a pandemic which put everything on hold.”
“So, to be able to put the first ceremonial spade in the ground to start construction is a really fantastic moment. It’s a tribute to the many people who have helped us reach this point. I can’t wait to see the architect’s plans come off the page as the building takes shape and becomes a purpose-designed environment for local people to receive a range of community health services for years to come,” Allen concluded.
Race Cottam Associates designed the building
The new Belper health centre
- The health centre will feature facilities including:
- 6 treatment rooms
- 15 consulting rooms
- A health education group room
The health centre will also accommodate all existing outpatient and clinical services provided at Babington Hospital and will provide a range of services including:
- Community nursing
- Midwifery clinics
- Podiatry services
- Speech and language therapy
- physiotherapy
- continence advisory service
- Wound care and phlebotomy
In terms of sustainability, the new health centre is being built to BREEAM excellent standards to ensure long-term sustainability and will include environmentally sustainable features such as photo-voltaic panels on the roof to harness the power of the sun, with pledges to use local and recycled material from demolished buildings in the build where possible, along with timber from certified sources.
Top image: Henry Brothers and the Trust Representatives, including Trust Chief Executive, Tracy Allen, at the turf-cutting ceremony.