New £16 Million Health Centre Receives Approval

A new health and care facility, valued at £16 million, has received approval to proceed. This integrated care centre, located in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, is intended to replace an existing community hospital that is nearing the end of its operational life. The project aims to facilitate closer collaboration among teams and bring care services nearer to residents’ homes. Construction for the facility, situated on Hammersmith Fields, adjacent to Seymour Road, is projected to last 12 months, with completion anticipated by the end of 2025. Services from the current hospital will be transitioned in stages. Financial backing for the initiative is provided by the local integrated care board (ICB), NHS Property Services, and Wiltshire Council. Caroline Holmes, representing the Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, stated: “Having services based in the community, in locations such as this new state-of-the-art centre, will not only put care closer to patients’ homes, but also support different health and care teams to work closer together, which should result in a much smoother, more joined-up experience of the NHS for local people.” She also noted that the ICB previously developed a comparable facility, the Devizes Health Centre, which she said makes “an enormous difference to the lives of local people”. Wiltshire Council has contributed £3 million to the project, sourced from the Wiltshire Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This levy is a charge that local authorities impose on new developments to help finance various other projects. Councillor Ian Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for public health, commented: “We are using the monies obtained from developments to invest directly in key services for our communities, and this will rejuvenate health facilities in the town and benefit Trowbridge residents for years to come.” Furthermore, the facility is designed with environmental sustainability in mind, incorporating solar panels and heat pumps to achieve self-sufficiency and net zero carbon emissions.