The completed scheme
The striking two-storey building is focused around a glazed circular atrium, containing a café which provides a welcoming feel for the patients. All the GP clinical space is currently on the ground floor with complementary health facilities at first floor easily accessed from the central Atrium. The exterior of the building has been purposely designed to reflect the seaside character of Fleetwood with a combination of white painted render and blue brick. Interesting features of the build process included the need for 60 ft long piled foundations, and what was thought to be a serious contamination problem (but turned out to be rotting straw bales left in the ground during historic building works!)
The brief
There were three overcrowded GP practices operating on the same side of Fleetwood, two of which were in over-extended bungalows. Broadway, one of the Practices decided to explore development of new premises,and following a bidding process, Oakapple was selected by Broadway Medical Practice as developer. However the brief was extended by the former PCT to accommodate several practices. To allay concerns about negative equity from one of the practices, Oakapple agreed to acquire their old premises as part of the project.
The site
A number of possible sites were researched by Oakapple, including the car park of a large 1930’s public house in a prominent nearby location. We subsequently agreed to buy not just the car park, but the whole public house site, allowing greater potential for development. The larger site allowed expansion of the scheme to provide a “Health Village”, including complementary health facilities, a pharmacy and community café. All involved were keen to see a strong community identity for the development in this prominent location. Although each Practice wanted to retain their own identity, they were also keen to benefit from shared resources and the efficiencies this offered.