• The multi-million pound health care development will begin in early 2022 and will act as a hub for the community; it has been designed specifically to meet the varied needs of the local population
• The state of the art new building is designed to meet ‘excellent’ sustainability targets and ensure inclusivity and accessibility for all patients

Flexdane Ltd are a family-owned business and have operated their business on this site in Tyldesley for over 25 years, serving the local community.  When the opportunity came available to redevelop their existing site and provide a new mixed-use scheme, they were excited to be able to deliver this for the local community. Phase 1 of the Parr Bridge retail scheme is now complete with new Lidl Food Store, Starbucks and Nursery facility. The residential scheme adjoining the retail park is also progressing well.  Phase 2 will now comprise a new health & wellbeing centre and adjacent retail terrace with pharmacy, completing a wonderful development serving the local community.

The transformational development will see the existing Boothstown Medical Centre relocate to Parr Bridge Retail Park with a state-of the-art health and wellbeing centre in the heart of the community.

The new forward thinking future proofed building is being created to be a community hub, with a modern GP surgery, pharmacy in adjacent retail terrace and additional services designed to suit a variety of local needs. The development will be a beacon for the community with Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust delivering a wide range of services including podiatry, baby clinic, dieticians, ear & eye care, midwives, district nurses, speech & language therapy, counselling, and physiotherapy. Additionally, there will be allotted space for the council to work from to help offer a range of other vital services, and the North West Ambulance Service will be invited to use the facilities on site.

The building is designed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable and ensure inclusivity and accessibility for all patients. The new health and wellbeing centre will be wheelchair friendly and have lift access to all floors as well as ample bike and car parking spaces. During the build special consideration and careful planning will be undertaken for patient groups who need differing levels of care, this will help patients to acclimatise to the changing surroundings and ensure a smooth transition.

As well as providing excellent healthcare facilities, the new health and wellbeing centre will have additional capacity to serve the local community and will feature plenty of green space, with landscaping across the whole of the development site approved by Wigan Council.

Construction of the building is scheduled to start in early 2022 and the whole programme is expected to be complete by early 2023.

Tom Clay, Managing Director of development company Flexdane Ltd said: “I’m delighted that we are progressing the scheme in partnership with NHS Wigan Borough CCG, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Boothstown Medical Centre. Our family business has operated on the site for over 25 years and it is now great to see the reuse of our land into a mixed use community scheme for the local population, at the heart of which will be the new Health & Wellbeing centre”

Peter Wilkinson, director of PWA Ltd, project manager for Flexdane Ltd, commented about working with the NHS and Flexdane Ltd :  “We are really excited to be delivering a new health care facility that is at the forefront of new ways of working and in doing so offers the best care for patients. This building is a direct response to what the NHS has been calling for in terms of care closer to home, reducing health inequalities, and its use of technology and flexible space creation”

Professor Craig Harris, Accountable Officer of NHS Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group said: “We are delighted to be working with Boothstown Medical Centre, Flexdane Ltd and local partners on the development of a new health and wellbeing hub in Tyldesley. As well as housing the local GP practice and community clinic it presents an opportunity for us to think about the wider services that we can bring together to support local residents. This supports our ambition within of our locality plan, Happy Healthy People to make it easier for residents to access services in their community. Flexdane Ltd and their design team have listened to feedback from local stakeholders in the design of the building and local area. When the plans are displayed and put up online I’d encourage residents to take a look, ask questions and give your feedback to help us make this a success.”

Dr Richard Anderson, GP Partner at Boothstown Medical Centre , also spoke about the project: “This is a very exciting time for Boothstown Medical Centre, all our patients and the wider community. This new state of the art building will go a long way in reducing health inequalities.

“The new building brings with it the opportunity for the surgery to support and deliver additional services that our current building restricts.”