A ground-breaking ceremony has taken place, marking the start of the building works for this long awaited and much needed development of Montpelier Health Centre in Bristol.
The development of this new community surgery – enabling the transfer of existing services provided at the Sussex Place Branch surgery – adjacent to the existing Health Centre, will see the construction of a two storey building on piled foundations, incorporating 6 consulting rooms, a treatment room, pharmacy and staff facilities. The project is due for completion in the autumn.
Working with the Health Centre are commercial property advisers GVA and regional contractor Henry. W Pollard & Sons Ltd.
At the ceremony, Dr Kim Hearn, Partner of Montpelier Health Centre said,“We are very excited about this project and look forward to the completion of this new surgery which will provide modern facilities for patients from our branch surgery but encompass their wish to remain in a small practice. We would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get us to this stage, Bristol PCT for all their support and guidance and our professional team who have kept us on track over many months during the planning and design phase. Lloyds Pharmacy will be relocating their very small pharmacy a few yards away to work alongside us as part of the new building and this will enable them to provide a more comprehensive service to many of their customers. We are aware that building work is disruptive and that our neighbours will be inconvenienced at times but we are sure that the end result will make it all worthwhile for all of us”.
Melvyn Thomas, Project Manager with GVA in Bristol said, “We have been working closely with the GPs from inception through design and planning, to project management on site – integrating the various challenges and needs to provide contemporary healthcare facilities with a high level of sustainability standards within an established conservation area and community environment. I am delighted that our national specialist health care team has been able to assist the GPs in this challenging development.”
Bill Badham, Managing Director of Pollard, commented, “Everyone has worked extremely hard to arrive at this point, with the ground-breaking ceremony being the next significant milestone in ensuring our client’s vision becomes a reality.
“We are delighted to have been appointed for this project as it allows us to continue the close working relationship we have with GVA, with whom we are currently working on a number of medical centres. This experience and team work will be key to us achieving our goals and we look forward to handing over this important facility to our client later this year.”
