Key Details:
Client: eLC (Sedbergh) Ltd for Sedbergh Medical Practice
Capital value: £2.6m
Project scope: The finance, design and build of the facility using a standard lease and including support to the then PCT in production of the Outline and Full Business Cases.
The project:
Carveti were asked by the PCT to become involved in the development of a new £2.6m health centre when the Practice’s own attempts to develop the facility foundered.
Located on a site previously occupied by the old Auction Mart, the development for Sedbergh Medical Practice includes a suite of consulting rooms, treatment rooms, a dispensary and extensive patient and staff car parking.
Construction work began in April 2011 and was completed on 24th February 2012.
The health centre brings a range of improvements to both patients and staff ensuring that Sedbergh Medical Practice can continue to deliver the highest quality services and allow for a range of new services to be offered to patients.
Patient and community benefits:
In addition to the facilities normally found in a medical centre, the building includes some non-GMS space for provision of medical services to Sedbergh School, as well as a highly flexible conference / training suite and research facilities designed to provide added income to the Practice and to ensure that it, and others in the area, can remain at the forefront of healthcare delivery.
It was important to all the stakeholders that the project sought to maximise the benefit of the project to the local economy. As a consequence, the build involved the extensive use of locally based suppliers and subcontractors with more than £1.5m of the £1.7m capital spend going to companies located within approximately 50 miles of Sedbergh.
The design incorporates a number of sustainable features including a Sustainable Drainage System to alleviate demand on the existing drainage infrastructure in the area and large attenuation tanks were included to reduce flooding on the nearby main road into the town.
Our challenges:
The Site: The health centre is located on a brownfield site (the old Auction Mart) and has been designed to reflect the sensitivities of its location in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and features the use of stone and slate to reflect the local vernacular.
The development is part of a wider development that involved the construction by a third party of a Spar supermarket on the same site; the health centre formed part of the s106 agreement. Although completed without difficulty, this added an additional layer of complexity to the pre-construction negotiations and legal work.
Late engagement: The Practice had engaged an architect prior to Carveti’s involvement and the nature of the outline design had been largely fixed. This, coupled with National Park planning constraints resulted in costs that were relatively high for a development of this sort and had to be carefully managed to ensure that the scheme remained viable.
The weather: Construction took longer than expected due to the winter start and poor weather resulting in additional costs borne by Carveti and the contractor.
Key partners:
- Architect: Day Cummins Ltd
- D&B construction contractor: Askam Construction
- Employer’s Agent: Telford Hart Associates
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