Construction to start on new Two Rivers Medical Centre in Ipswich
It’s all systems go for the new Two Rivers Medical Centre in North East Ipswich which is due to start construction next month following completion of contracts on the much-needed facility which will be built on the former West Villa Hostel site in Woodbridge Road East. Ipswich-based Apollo Capital Projects Development, a leading primary care premises developer which is delivering the centre, announced the news this week.
The new 2,200 sqm state-of-the-art medical centre – which will replace the existing Lattice Barn and Woodbridge Road Surgeries – will serve over 25,000 patients in North East Ipswich and surrounding catchment areas. The centre will provide a mix of 25 consultation and treatment rooms, including a minor operations suite, specialist GP training facilities, and an on-site retail pharmacy.
The Lattice Barn and Woodbridge Road practices which have recently merged to become the Two Rivers Medical Centre, will move into the new premises when it is competed in the summer next year. Apollo is working with the GP practice, NHS and Ipswich Borough Council to deliver the scheme.
“This is excellent news for the Two Rivers Medical Centre, Apollo and the local community,” says Stuart Clarke, Apollo Development Manager. “Having reached this important project milestone, we can now look forward to the construction phase of the development with work due to commence on site next month”.
Apollo, which is investing over £6 million in the facility, has appointed local building contractor Barnes Construction to build the new medical centre which will employ local people and suppliers in the community.
“From the 1 April this year Lattice Barn and Woodbridge Road surgeries merged to become Two Rivers Medical Centre. This will help us to consolidate our new practice ahead of moving into the new premises in the summer of 2016. Neither of the two existing buildings we currently work from have been fit for purpose for a considerable time,” says Dr Jonathan Knight, GP Lead for the Two Rivers Medical Centre. “We now look forward to moving into a fantastic purpose-built facility from which we can provide a fuller range of primary care services and better serve our patients. Apollo has done a great job working with KLH Architects and Barnes Construction, who are both local to Ipswich and have both previously been involved in other health-related developments in Suffolk.”
The development which is being built on a brownfield site, has been designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent environmental performance rating.
Nick Fayers, Managing Director at Barnes Construction said: “As a locally based family business, we are delighted to have been appointed by Apollo to build the new medical centre. It is poignant as a number of our staff are patients of the Two Rivers Practice, so they will be particularly interested in the new facilities we are building.”
Dr Mark Shenton, chairman, NHS Ipswich and East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group said: “It is good news that construction on this important new health facility for Ipswich is set to begin. Everyone involved has worked extremely hard to reach this stage of the project and should be congratulated for their commitment. Patients deserve access to the best possible healthcare facilities and providing GP services in a modern, state-of-the-art building will serve local people well for many years to come.”
