A TURF cutting ceremony marked the beginning of Dartmouth’s new £4.8 million health and wellbeing centre.
Dartmouth’s deputy mayor, Graham Evans, along with Dr Tony Anderson from Dartmouth Medical Practice and Iris Pritchard, president of Dartmouth Caring, broke the ground to mark the occasion.
Building has now started on the state-of-the-art centre, which will provide community health services and clinics alongside the local GP practice and a pharmacy. The centre, based at the top of town, is planned to open in summer 2022.
The ceremony was hosted by Sir Richard Ibbotson, chairman of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. It was attended by representatives from the town and district councils and a number of local groups, including Dartmouth League of Friends; Dartmouth Medical Centre and its patient participation group; Dartmouth Caring; and governors of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.
Sir Richard Ibbotson commented: “It’s so good to see the long-awaited start of the building of what we believe will be a fantastic facility for the people of Dartmouth and the surrounding communities. It’s fitting that we have been able to mark this occasion with Mrs Pritchard and Dr Anderson, who have given so much to supporting the health and wellbeing of local people.”
Cllr Hilary Bastone, South Hams District Council’s Deputy Leader, said: “This is a really positive step towards Dartmouth getting a top-notch health and wellbeing facility. A hub like this can provide so much under one roof and I believe this is very much needed locally.”
The centre will give residents access to a broad range of health and wellbeing services in one place, by bringing together GPs, community nurses, therapists, Dartmouth Caring and a pharmacy.
There’ll be good public transport links, as well as on-site parking. The overflow parking for the town’s park and ride is also being upgraded during the build, with new hardstanding parking spaces to make the site more accessible
Cllr Jonathan Hawkins, South Hams District Councillor for Dartmouth, said: “This new health and wellbeing centre will provide state-of-the-art new facilities all on one site, so is a huge improvement on what we now have for Dartmouth and its surrounding parishes.”
Cllr Graham Evans, Deputy Mayor for Dartmouth Town Council, added: “It’s really good news to see this investment into new facilities for our town. It’ll make a real difference for local people to effectively have a one-stop shop for access to health and wellbeing facilities. I’m sure our community staff, GPs and volunteers will all appreciate working from a building that is up-to-date, fit for purpose and can house everyone alongside each other.”
South Hams District Council has negotiated use of nearby sports pitches to provide a temporary carpark for July and August, to prevent the build having an adverse impact on visitors being able to park and travel into Dartmouth during the height of the tourist season.
The building project is being led by Torbay and South Devon’s strategic estates partner, gbpartnerships, with the building work carried out by Westcountry building firm Classic Builders.
Ian Tuddenham, of gbpartnerships, said: “This is an exciting development for Dartmouth and we’re delighted to be working in partnership with the Trust to deliver the state-of-the-art health and wellbeing centre. This is the first project to start on site, in what we expect will be a number of developments through SDH Innovations Partnership, the joint venture between Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and gbpartnerships.”