This project involved the design and build of a new medical centre to meets the demands of a growing village on the outskirts of Grimsby. The project was unique as it involved swapping two services between two buildings – a medical centre and a local community centre.

The existing community centre situated on the larger piece of land wasn’t utilising the space it had available and therefore was able to relocate to the smaller site where the current medical centre was.

To do this the users of the community centre moved into a temporary building, so the demolition of the community centre could take place and the new medical centre constructed. The temporary building was large enough to facilitate all activities that took place, including dance classes (so a special floor covering had to be included), and adhere to all building and fire regulations.

On completion of Phase One, the users of the original surgery moved into the new medical centre, and the original surgery was then partly demolished to allow for the new smaller community centre to be constructed. On completion of this, the users of the community centre could move out of the temporary facility and into their new centre.

On a project such as this, communication and coordination of information was paramount, as although we officially had one client, the reality was different.

The community centre users and their representatives, the surgery staff and users, and the local council as well as the land owner/landlord all had an influence throughout the process.
It is always our intention to be a good neighbour no matter how long or short our involvement within a community is. We rented car parking spaces from the neighbouring Rugby Club to ensure our vehicles didn’t become a nuisance to local road users.

We provided items for the temporary community centre free of charge. We saved the community centre money by working together in the application for temporary electricity supplies. We used the local hotel for site visitors and meals where appropriate.