Plan for urban health and care village revealed
LONDON: A plan to build a new urban health and care village concept has been revealed.
Health and care property developer, Prime, has revealed plans for its first Urban Health and Care Village in Woking – a first for the UK. The plans for the new scheme aim to bring accessible health, care and community services, as well as residential homes, into the town centre to help rejuvenate the High Street.
Prime’s GBP200 million project, in partnership with Woking Borough Council and Coplan, will span approximately 500,000 sq ft and seeks to future proof jobs and the High Street by bringing essential community services into the centre of the town.
Leighton Chumbley, Chief Executive of Prime, comments: “We’re really excited to be able to reveal our plans for the UK’s first urban health and care village in Woking town centre. The High Street really is the heart of the community and by bringing a mixture of health services and housing with care into a central urban village will ease the pressure on hospitals and drive much-needed footfall back into the town centre. In turn this will have a positive impact on the retail aspects of the High Street and revitalise a core part of the area that is on the decline.
“At the moment, we’re still in conversation with the local NHS integrated care systems to confirm the types of healthcare provisions needed in the urban health and care village to ensure that what is delivered reflects the specific needs of the community.”
Prime has been working with Woking Borough Council’s appointed development partner, Coplan Estates, on the plans to regenerate the site in the town centre to an urban health and care village. In addition to the health and community services proposed for the scheme, the development would also comprise approximately 200 later-living apartments and 300 build-to-rent homes.
Nick Doyle, Managing Director of Coplan Estates, comments: “The creation of Urban Health and Care Villages can deliver many benefits to stakeholders across towns and cities. Relocating health and care services and later living facilities into urban spaces will inspire regeneration and instantly become a driver for footfall.
“When it comes to the economic future of our town centres and the need to breathe life back into them, diversity is key. The future of our high streets will offer a dynamic mix of retail, leisure, public services, residential and work to better suit the pace of modern life and deliver long-term economic benefits that will help local communities to thrive.”
It is expected that a planning application for the Woking scheme will be submitted to the Council later this year.
Prime hopes to bring forward further Urban Health and Care Villages across the whole of the UK and is currently in conversations with asset owners and Council leaders in six other towns. Each of these plans will be bespoke to the community and have a GDV of between GBP125 million and GBP200 million. For a town with a population between 95,000 to 100,000 Prime expect schemes to be around 250,000 sq ft and above.
