Attwood Green Health Care

“The move to the new health centre in Attwood Green has had a really positive effect on staff and patients at the Bath Row and Hyman GP practices and we have received so much great feedback since it opened. The building is spacious and light and gives each practice enough space for it to feel like their own, but with all the benefits of shared resources.”

Tracey Millward, Health Centre Manager, NHS Property Services

The existing health centre site was too restrictive for redevelopment, with no room to extend the property and the pharmacy already located in a temporary building in the front car park due to a lack of space inside. Coupled with a large programme of redevelopment in the area, including an influx of new housing, more capacity was needed to meet demand.

BaS LIFT’s partnership approach was key to the delivery of this much-needed healthcare building. Further along Bath Row, a large site with planning permission for a residential development had been acquired by house builder, Crest Nicholson, as part of its involvement in the large regeneration project known as Park Central. When the local housing association, Optima, decided there was no requirement for social housing on the site, Crest Nicholson was keen to sell the land rather than leave it vacant. Working with the landowner and the two PCTs involved, BaS LIFT used the property expertise of its private sector partner, Prime, negotiating a good deal for the plot of land and securing a site that would be easily accessible for staff and patients.

The resulting facility has the capacity to accommodate more clinicians, not only allowing a wider provision of healthcare services but the potential for increasing the patient list size. By opting for a separate site for the new health centre, BaS LIFT was also able to ensure continuity of primary care services in the area and create a smoother transition for patients and staff to the new facility.

Delivering a landmark building Due to its city centre location, the planning permission for the new facility was quite prescriptive. The building would need to be built up to the boundaries to complement the other properties on Bath Row and had to be six-storeys high to mirror the surrounding landscape. Working closely with the GP practices, two PCTs, clinicians and the local community throughout the planning and design stages, BaS LIFT and its specialist design team One Creative Environments Ltd delivered an innovative solution to the restrictive brief. The dimensions of the building and its play on the ‘urban boulevard’ ensures Attwood Green Health Centre fits effortlessly with the neighbouring regeneration - matching the scale of the surrounding developments - while the use of floor to ceiling glazing and coloured panels on the façade create a state-of-the-art, landmark building that inspires local pride and stands out from the other developments. The aspirational design of the new centre also complements Birmingham City Council’s 'Park Central’ initiative to transform the Attwood Green area of Birmingham and is one of the biggest urban regeneration projects in Europe.

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Ewan Forsyth

Attwood Green Health Centre photography winners announced

Countdown starts to new £13m Attwood Green Health Centre

Size: 4532sqm
Completed: July 2012
Partners: Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust and South Birmingham Primary Care Trust

"Attwood Green provides a building that both stands out and yet fits in, exceeding what the local community wanted."

Ewan Forsyth, Development Director, BaS LIFT