A turf-cutting ceremony has celebrated the start of work getting under way on Belper’s new £15m health centre.
The event marks a key stage in the development of the new facilities for NHS community health services for resident of Belper and surrounding area.
Representatives of the appointed contractor, Henry Brothers Construction, and NHS services provider Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, who will run services in the new building once finished, were in attendance.
Tracy Allen, chief executive of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, who did the honours with the symbolic first spade, 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.”
The modern facilities – designed to have high environmental credentials to ensure long-term sustainability – are being built on the site of the former Belper Clinic, as part of the Babington Hospital site on Derby Road, Belper.
Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust recently commissioned Midlands-based contractor Henry Brothers Construction to deliver the new building over a planned construction phase of 66 weeks. It is being delivered through the Pagabo Major Works Framework.
The health development will feature 15 consulting rooms, six treatment rooms, a health education group room and other facilities, 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. It will provide a new state-of-the-art base from which to deliver all clinical and outpatient care currently delivered in Babington Hospital.
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.
“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.”
The new health centre 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 new construction where possible, along with timber from certified sources. It is being built to BREEAM excellent standards to ensure long-term sustainability.
Designed by architects Race Cottam Associates, it will accommodate all existing outpatient and clinical services provided at Babington Hospital. 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.
Henry Brothers Construction, based in Nottingham, is part of The Henry Group, which comprises a number of manufacturing and construction sector companies, ranging from external construction through to interiors fit-out. In partnership with clients, it has a proven track record in education, defence, accommodation, commercial, industrial, transport and healthcare sectors. For more information, visit www.henrybrothers.co.uk.