Planning permission has been granted for a health hub and ambulance station in Bakewell, incorporating part of Newholme Hospital and the adjoining East Midlands Ambulance Service site on Baslow Road.
The plans pave the way for the nearly £10.5 million health care regeneration scheme for the local community, with building designs recognising the heritage of the area.
The scheme is a partnership between Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHST) NHS Foundation Trust, and East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The aim is to provide a base for a range of community health services and a new ambulance station in Bakewell and the Derbyshire Dales.
William Jones, Chief Operating Officer for DCHST, said: "This is fantastic news and means everything is now in place for us to proceed with appointing a contractor to begin the development.
“We have worked closely with the Peak District National Park Authority to ensure our designs are sympathetic to the heritage of the area while also providing a building which is suitable to meet the needs of 21st century community-based healthcare. This marks a big milestone in bringing this project to life.”
Samantha Westwell, ambulance operations manager for East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust in Derbyshire, said: "This is a really exciting step in the development of the new health hub for Bakewell.
“We have been working closely in partnership with Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust for quite some time now to make sure this development reflects our commitment to providing the best service to the community and our patients.”
The new building will be on the site of Riverside Ward and the current ambulance station, both of which will be demolished to make way for the new facilities. Building work is expected to start on site later in 2021 with an anticipated construction timescale of 14 months.
Funding of £8.58m towards the cost of the project was awarded by the Department of Health and Social Care in December 2018. The funding was secured under the government’s Sustainability and Transformation Partnership drive, to transform health and social care for local communities.
NHS Property Services will decide what happens to the main Newholme Hospital site once the new health hub is completed and all services are moved into the new accommodation.
