Spire set for expansion and improvement after major investment
Philip Lovel (third left) and Chris Harrison (second left) with staff from the Spire Hull and East Riding Hospital and Hobson & Porter.
Spire Healthcare, a leading UK independent hospital group, is set to expand and improve its services in the Hull and Humber region after taking possession of a new facility as part of a £3.4 million investment programme.
Lowfield Clinic, directly opposite the main Spire Hull and East Riding Hospital in Anlaby, is now being fitted out after being completed in less than a year by Lovel Developments and main contractor Hobson & Porter.
Chris Harrison, who took over as Hospital Director this month, said the new building will become fully operational during the summer and bring significant benefits both directly and by enabling reorganisation of facilities within the main hospital.
He said: “It is an exciting time to be joining the hospital as we are developing what we can offer to the local community in terms of both services and jobs.
“A lot of it is about providing an excellent working environment for staff and also allowing us to redevelop the main hospital site to make it easier for patients. Lowfield Clinic will have cosmetic and specialist clinics as well as state-of-the-art physiotherapy for outpatients and a health assessment centre.
“There will also be a pathology lab and modern office space. We are reconfiguring the main hospital by moving the support services here and that will enable us to install new MRI and CT scanners, with a wider range of scans and more in-depth diagnosis.”
Lovel Developments, based in Beverley, acquired and developed the 25-acre site at Lowfield Road having taken it through the planning process. Other elements of the project are 208 new homes and space for a new NHS medical centre.
Philip Lovel, Managing Director of Lovel Developments, said: “David Wilson Homes are progressing well with the housing site. The show homes are open and a number of the houses have already been sold. The final phase will be provision of a new NHS medical centre serving Willerby, Hessle, Swanland and other villages in the area. It has full planning permission and we are awaiting final funding from the NHS.”
Lovel Developments is currently seeking planning permission to build 300 homes in Cottingham and 150 homes in Beverley – the first phase of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s master plan to provide 1,800 new homes to the south of the town. The company also led the successful development of a project in Market Weighton which provided housing and a new health centre in 2014 and Mr Lovel said more projects are in the pipeline.
Hull-based Hobson & Porter built the new centre in Market Weighton and started work on the Lowfields building in June 2015.
Wayne Cropp, the company’s Project Manager, said: “The project has provided work for a total of 340 people and the vast majority of those are from the local area, with local sub-contractors appointed to roles from mechanical and electrical work to decorating.”
The existing Spire Healthcare hospital opened 30 years ago and employs 400 people. Mr Harrison said at least 10 new jobs are likely to be created as a result of the current investment programme.
He said: “Lovel Developments and Hobson & Porter have done a superb job. The team involved us at every stage to shape first class working conditions for our staff and purpose-designed clinical facilities.
“It enables us to further develop our health services, increasing the amount of screening we do and developing the wellness side of the business as well as the illness side.
“There are also 200 parking spaces, which will make a big difference for staff and patients. It will also help people in the local area who have experienced problems with cars being left along the main road.”
