Wellbeing village begins to take shape

02-Oct-2023

Wynne Construction is breathing new life into the Ellesmere Port community as it carries out work on a major £13.5m development.

The firm is leading on the design and build of a health and wellbeing village, which includes the creation of a sustainable 34,000sq ft facility to safeguard medical access in the area, on behalf of NHS Merseyside and Cheshire. The company is relocating the Great Sutton Medical Centre to a 12-acre site off Old Chester Road, where the currently situated village hall and scout hut will also be redeveloped by Wynne as part of the project.

The centre will include larger consultation and treatment rooms, ambulance bays, and increased space for cars for the convenience of staff and patients, while relieving traffic congestion due to the expected decrease in the need for street parking to access the premises.

The firm has completed the installation of precast concrete slabs for the ground floor and erected the first phase of steel frames which outline its overall shape, with focus now switching to progressing the village hall.

Wynne Construction site manager Steven Kemp said: “With the foundations and beams in place, it’s fantastic to see the size and scale of the new facility, which will provide more space for patients and staff. It has been built with expansion in mind and will benefit from energy-efficient systems through the inclusion of photovoltaic panels and air-source heat pumps to reduce environmental harm and running costs. We’re currently advancing work on the community building, and with the masonry now complete, we will install the roof and windows to make it watertight. It’s a complex job as the site shares an entrance with the current hall which is still in operation, meaning we have to ensure minimal noise and disruption to its activities through carefully scheduled deliveries.”

With the wellbeing village on track to be completed by the end of August 2024, Wynne is also providing benefits to the community through employment and work experience opportunities.

Steven added: “It’s been great to work with our supply chain in the north west on this project, and bringing five new workers to site, including two apprentices and a locally based gateman to manage deliveries and monitor site activity. These new buildings will also safeguard residents’ access to high-quality facilities, particularly as the village hall and scout hut will benefit from a larger floorplan with increased natural lighting, making them welcoming and modern community assets. The previous hut was a basic shed with no means of heating and also had a limited electrical supply, so creating a multi-purpose space with reliable energy sources will be a huge improvement. We’ve also added changing rooms into the hall, which will be of value to the local youth football team, Great Sutton FC, whose training site is a stone’s throw away from the wellbeing village.”

Wynne’s social value work has also included making improvements to the club’s pitch by rotating it 90 degrees and creating space for an additional playing field. In addition, the firm has donated £3,000 worth of metal fencing used on the site to local allotments.

 

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