The construction of Berwick’s £35million hospital has begun.
Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Management will be delivering the project on behalf of Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust and Merit Health has been appointed as the construction partner.
A large proportion of the hospital’s services infrastructure and fit-out will be built offsite at Merit’s factory in Cramlington.
Work has now begun, using the modern offsite method of construction, to manufacture 650 pre-assembled modules (PAMs), weighing around 195 tonnes in total, and 17 UltraPODs® weighing around 300 tonnes.
Turner & Townsend has been appointed to provide project management consultancy. Liam Robinson, who works for the global professional services company and is the project manager for the scheme, said: “I am incredibly proud to be working on a project which is going to have such a positive effect on the health and wellbeing of the local communities in and around Berwick. It is great that we are finally entering the construction phase. The energy centre, which was going to be housed in its own building, has recently received planning permission to be installed within PODS on the rooftop of the building. This will free up space on site.
Mark Brough, Merit Health’s project manager, said: “Once we have constructed the frame of the hospital, stairs and floors will be installed along with an accessible rooftop. The building will then be clad and glazed externally to weatherproof it and ensure it is water tight. After this, we will install the offsite manufactured components that will form the network of services for the building. We will then be able to fit out the hospital.
“One of the main benefits of our offsite approach to construction is that work on-site and in our factory is done in parallel, meaning that projects can be completed a lot quicker than the traditional build model. A very special part of the project will be when what has been manufactured in the factory, especially the PAMs and PODs, are transported to site. It is quite a spectacle to see! We will of course keep everyone updated on the progress of the scheme and we will let people know if they are going to be impacted in any way. I am really looking forward to setting up the site now and feel privileged to work on something which is so important for the local communities of Berwick.”
Once the main build is complete, demolition of the remaining old hospital buildings, with exception of the clock tower, will be carried out. The car park and access roads will be built and landscaping work completed.
Using the offsite approach to construction will also reduce local disruption, site traffic and noise as majority of the work will take place in Merit’s factory in Cramlington rather than on site in Berwick. This also makes the project more sustainable as there will be less vehicle movement. Manufacturing in a controlled factory environment also means that the build is not impacted by the weather.
Damon Kent, NHFM’s managing director, said: “Modular construction is now a preferred method of construction and it is fantastic that we are able to use this very modern method on such an historic site.
“The life-span of the building will be around 80 years, the same as a traditional build, but this approach brings significant benefits. It will take at least a year less to build the hospital, be much less disruptive for local communities and it has significant environmental benefits. Doing construction off-site also means that delays because of the weather, for example, will be avoided. This reflects the willingness of Northumbria Healthcare to embrace innovation and also demonstrates its very determined commitment to being as sustainable as possible.”
It is hoped that the new hospital will open towards the end of next year.