Work starts on new NHS health centre
‘DELIGHTED’: Joe Booth, Business Development Director for Hobson & Porter, left, and Steve Roberts, Development Contracts Manager for Lovel Developments
Work is under way on construction of a long-awaited NHS medical centre which will provide specialist services to the villages west of Hull.
Hobson & Porter, the Hull-based business which marks its 50th anniversary this year, has been awarded the contract for the project by Lovel Developments and started work this week.
The centre is a significant piece of the jigsaw at the 25-acre site in Lowfield Road, Anlaby, which has so far brought completion of 243 new homes as well as a clinic built by Hobson & Porter for the Spire Hull and East Riding Hospital.
Lovel Developments held its first consultation on the proposals for the wider site in 2014 and acquired the land the following year, but the initial proposals for the NHS facility date back 15 years, when health professionals first identified a need for more space.
Philip Lovel, Managing Director of Lovel Developments, said: “This has been on the agenda since around 2005. The idea for a new facility first gained approval from the primary care trust in 2008 but they couldn’t find a suitable site.”
With land earmarked for the project as part of the Lowfield Road development, Willerby and Swanland Surgery put together a strategic case which was approved by the East Riding of Yorkshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in December 2018. Funding was finally approved in September 2020.
Mr Lovel said: “The new centre is designed to meet the needs of the Harthill Primary Care Network for a hub which will enable them to bring in specialist services and better access, providing something that isn’t available elsewhere.
“We are delighted to announce the appointment of Hobson & Porter to build the centre having worked with them very successfully on the new facilities for Spire Hull and East Riding Hospital.
“Work has now started at the site and the building will be handed over in January 2022. By then we also hope to have started work on the final phase of land allocated for housing, which will provide up to 55 homes.”
Harthill Primary Care Network was established in 2019 to cover an area which includes Anlaby, Cottingham, Hessle, North Ferriby, Swanland and Willerby.
The new centre will be accessible by walking, cycling, public transport and car, with the main entrance at the rear, next to parking spaces for more than 30 vehicles. The ground floor will house six treatment or consulting rooms and a health education area. The first floor has nine consulting rooms for GPs and other health professionals as well as meeting rooms and space for support staff. Admin staff and the practice manager will occupy the smaller, second floor.
Joe Booth, Business Development Director for Hobson & Porter, said: “Health and social care has become a dominant sector for us in recent years and, as a Hull-based business, we are proud to be appointed to another project which will enhance the health facilities in the area.
“The last 12 months have thrown up some unique challenges in the construction sector, yet it continues to demonstrate confidence and opportunity. You don’t have to travel far in the Hull and Humber area to pass a construction site and this is a great reflection of the significant contribution the property and construction sectors are making to the regional and national economy at a crucial time.
“This much-needed health centre is one of many great local projects we have commenced in the last year and another which provides valuable opportunities within our local supply chain.”