Construction work on a £10m Hertfordshire-based care home project, being delivered by principal contractor Clegg Construction, has continued on site throughout the pandemic to reach its first major milestone, with the steel structure now in place.
The development, located in Wormley, Hertfordshire, is a 77-bed purpose-built care home. It will be run by established operator GoldCare on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council, with the facility providing much-needed accommodation for flexible elderly care, including specialist dementia care.
The contemporary two storey building has been sustainably designed to ensure it is energy efficient, but more importantly that is creates an environment that is sensitive to the end user. It will therefore have a number of communal facilities including shops, a café, hairdressers, children’s play area and landscaped gardens.
Nick Jude, senior contracts manager at Clegg Construction, said: “We’re really pleased with how works are progressing on site and completing the steel work is a real milestone in the build as you begin to get sense of the building, which really brings it to life.
“Work started on site in late January earlier this year and has continued throughout the pandemic, with everyone on site of course observing social distancing protocol. The project has naturally slowed with the availability of building materials reducing, however by finding some new suppliers we have managed to pick up the pace in recent weeks.
“Hertfordshire County Council has been fantastic. They have continually paid us early so that we can pass it down through our supply chain to keep everyone afloat. Despite the obvious challenges there has been a real sense of collaboration with everyone pulling together, which is great to see.”
Richard Roberts, Executive Member for Adult Care and Health at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We are excited to be working with Clegg Construction because there is a shortage of nursing homes both nationally and in the local area so we anticipate this development with its modern facilities, spacious living accommodation and courtyard design will bridge the gap between supply and demand. The comfort and wellbeing of the future residents is key, so we are very pleased to have been able to purpose design and build a nursing home to provide affordable good quality care.”
The project is due to complete in autumn 2021 and forms part of a wider masterplan, including residential housing. The care home has been designed by RDT Architects and the structural engineering was undertaken by TEP.
Cheten Chauhan, director at RDT Architects, said: “We are very pleased to be working on this scheme as it will not only provide much needed care facilities to the local area but also be a sustainable, energy efficient and modern care home.
“Our brief from the client was to deliver excellence in the care home design in order to support first class care. We therefore – in collaboration with the design team, key stakeholders, and Hertfordshire County Council – implemented a modern style of architecture that will enable the residents easily navigate around the internal and external environment as part of their day to day lives. As a result, seeing the impressive steel work going up is a really exciting step towards bringing the project to life.”
