The hybrid planning application for the redevelopment of Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot has been granted permission.
The £90m development includes a new 48-bed hospital set in the leafy surroundings of the Heatherwood Estate, which will offer planned care for patients of Frimley Healthcare NHS Trust with single en-suite bedrooms for over 50% of patients.
The four-storey building sits on a sloping site and has a masonry plinth with outpatients, imaging and endoscopy on the ground and lower ground floors centred around a double-height space and courtyard.
Six state-of-the-art, laminar flow theatres are provided on the first floor, which have been designed around the patient flows and to optimise natural light.
The top floor has inpatient beds and uses an engineered timber cladding on the façade to celebrate the woodland setting; with large windows offering treetop views for staff, visitors and patients.
Nick Fairham, project director at BDP, said: “The setting offers a fantastic opportunity for a healing environment for patients and generates a new natural green space in surrounding woodland for local residents.
“The project has now reached a significant milestone and we look forward to delivering a health campus for the local community and keeping the legacy of Heatherwood Hospital for generations to come.”
The new building will include an open-plan, agile workplace encouraging social interaction and efficiency for 300 staff. Space will also be provided for an integrated primary care hub to allow co-located services on the site.
The project will be part funded by the sale of the residual estate which has been masterplanned by BDP, with 230 housing units in a mix of types to maximise value to the trust and to align with the Neighbourhood Plan.
BDP provided architecture, landscape, civil and structural engineering, building services engineering, acoustics, lighting and sustainability for the project, which is due to finish in 2020 in advance of the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the hospital in 1922.
