Sole Bay Health Centre
A £5M two-storey newbuild accommodating a highly integrated array of GP and other health services accessed via a shared reception, with views over a landscaped courtyard. Configured to allow out-of-hours use of various parts, the whole has been designed to a BREEAM Healthcare ‘Excellent’ standard.
The 2,000 sqm building provides space for GPs, community services, physiotherapy, dentistry, pharmacy and outpatient clinics for the nearest District General Hospital, 20 miles away. Great care was taken to provide a state of the art facility in harmony with the needs of the local population and its setting.
LSI undertook an options appraisal exercise linked to a lengthy business case approval process leading to an extensive NHS statutory public consultation into services from Southwold GP practice, Southwold Community Hospital and Southwold Dental practice being relocated to the new location. This involved patient participation groups, Southwold Town Council, Reydon and surrounding Parish Councils, Hospital League of Friends, the Southwold Society and others.
The design approach centred on how people feel when in or around the building. The design has a civic feel so that it has a presence in the Reydon neighbourhood but is sympathetic to the scale and use of materials, of its residential surroundings.