James Williams Healthy Living Centre
This new £15M Healthy Living Centre has transformed a former retail space into a state-of-the-art facility, bringing two GP practices and vital community health services under one roof.
The James Williams Healthy Living Centre project has transformed an underutilised floor of a 1970s shopping centre into a state-of-the-art facility that moves care into the heart of the community. Located on the first floor of the Pentagon Shopping Centre in Chatham, the new £15M facility brings two GP practices and vital community health services under one roof.
A partnership between NHS Kent and Medway, Medway Council, and Medway Community Healthcare (MCH), the centre represents a clear demonstration of a project that delivers against the UK Government’s and NHS Long Term Plan’s ambition to move healthcare closer to where people live – reducing reliance on hospital settings, improving access to healthcare services for those who need it most, and addressing health inequalities across the South East.
To support close engagement with two GP practices and MCH, a 3D BIM model was used to communicate the developing scheme and to integrate complex Health Building Notes (HBN) and Health Technical Memoranda (HTM) data. This helped achieve comprehensive stakeholder sign-off on a design that delivers a modern clinical environment in a setting not intended to be used for healthcare.
Building on LSI Architects’ experience in healthcare, the project team consistently identified practical solutions to ensure the design remained compliant and successful. For example, a raised access floor was introduced to accommodate clinical drainage without impacting the internal demise of neighbouring retail tenants. Bespoke strategies were also established for fire safety, refuse management, deliveries and ambulance access, enabling the centre to function safely and efficiently within a busy public setting.
This technical rigour has created a healing environment which optimises natural daylight, following the principles of biophilic design, to enhance wellbeing of patients and staff. The co-location of services delivers the integrated, place-based care model the NHS is seeking to scale nationwide.
By repurposing an underutilised floor of the Pentagon Shopping Centre, the project demonstrates how town centre assets can be reimagined to deliver meaningful social value. Additionally, the project directly aligns with the NHS’s Net Zero ambitions and its strategy to prioritise the reuse of assets, delivering time, cost, and carbon efficiencies.