Multi Million Pound Primary
Care Centre Completed
08 December 2008
Nightingale Associates’ Rochdale office has handed over the Radcliffe Primary Care Centre. The new building, situated near the town centre, has now opened.
Nightingale Associates was appointed to design the £10.6 million new-build Primary Care Facility developed by the Public Private Partnership, Bury Tameside and Glossop Community Solutions, and Morgan Ashurst for the first phase of the NHS Bury LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust) programme, which is a national vehicle enabling local NHS trusts to invest in improving frontline primary and community care facilities.
The brand new 5200 m/sq development was designed and built to provide the people of Radcliffe with modern, integrated healthcare facilities of the highest standard. The new building brings together a number of disparate services in the area, including: Three GP Practices; Community Health facilities; Community Dental Services; An Urgent Treatment Centre; a Walk-in Centre; and Minor Surgeries Facilities. The new centre also combines wider community benefits, such as bookable group rooms, a pharmacy and a café.
The site is situated near Radcliffe town centre, close to a public park and adjacent to a residential area. The development has also enabled regeneration to a previously deprived area; it creates a light and open public square in a once run-down road, which could lead to further regeneration in the vicinity.
“This project gave us a fantastic opportunity to help create a functional and practical facility that can be used for a wide range of purposes, by patients and staff alike.
“Under the Government’s LIFT scheme, consultations with users of the building were paramount to its successful design. The process involved rigorous consultations with the general public, clinicians and other users of the facility to ensure that the building met all of the required criteria.”
Matt Cromack, Director, Nightingale Associates
The building contains a number of unique design features; a central glazed rotunda, containing a two-storey entrance, provides panoramic views from GP waiting areas on the second floor. The building also employs innovative uses of coloured glass, dot matrix patterns and obscure glazing.
The building’s unique design features addressed various challenges proposed by the site, which is located on a disused quarry and adjacent to a residential area.
“There were many challenges that needed to be overcome and addressed at key stages throughout the design process. The fact that the site was located within an existing quarry, and was sloping and very tight, created challenges in making the external public spaces feel open, welcoming and DDA compliant. A variety of design techniques, such as the coloured glass and obscure glazing, were also used to preserve the privacy of people in adjacent residential properties.”
Cromack continued
As an intrinsic part of the design philosophy, and in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of the new facility, the development includes a number of features promoting sustainable technologies, including:
- Rainwater harvesting systems supplying reclaimed water
- Roof mounted solar thermal panels to provide 30% of the daily hot water demand
“The result is very rewarding, knowing that we have played a part in enabling the Trust to provide such high quality care to the local area, whilst meeting the needs of the many stakeholders that will be using the building.”
Cromack concluded
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