Work has begun on the South Trafford Health and Well-being Centre on the site of the former Altrincham Hospital, due to open to the public in early 2018.
Site establishment works have started this week, with demolition of the existing building – undertaken by Hale-based McAuliffe Environmental Ltd – due to start by the middle to end of September.
The work will see the facade of the principal building – the only part of the original 1870s building deemed to have “architectural and cultural significance” – rebuilt in a slightly different location.
Construction is expected to get underway early in the New Year, once the main contractor is appointed.
NHS Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Trafford Council – who unanimously approved the plans in February – are working with Citybranch Ltd on the three-floor development, which has been designed by AFL Architects.
It will incorporate GP health services, a new Altrincham Library and Tourist Information Centre, the Trafford Care Co-ordination Centre, a mix of community services and therapies, a pharmacy, and clinical suites and training areas, including a minor surgery suite.
There will also be retail space and a café, an underground car park with 100 spaces (including five disabled bays) and a cycle store.
Gina Lawrence, chief operating officer at Trafford CCG, said: “This is a really exciting time for the area. The South Trafford Health and Well-being Centre is part of a wider plan to modernise GP and community health services across the borough.
“Increasingly, the delivery of clinical services will take place in modern spaces and co-located with other community facilities. This centre will also be the new home for the Trafford Care Co-ordination Centre, which is the first of its type in the country.”
A public consultation undertaken in summer 2015 showed overwhelming support for the scheme and related improvements which will see the creation of a new piazza on Pott Street. There will be further engagement events for residents and local businesses with the CCG and Council, the developer, project managers (Turner and Townsend) and contractors in the coming months.
Anyone with questions about the new centre or the sorts of services it will house should contact the communications team at Trafford CCG by calling 0161 873 9500 or emailing lauren.collins3@nhs.net.
