Plans for Newtown Health and Wellbeing campus moves a step closer

Plans for the creation of a multi-agency health and wellbeing campus in the centre of Newtown have taken a significant step forward with the appointment of a Cardiff-based construction consultancy to support this important project being progressed jointly by Powys County Council and Powys Teaching Health Board, through the North Powys Wellbeing Programme.

Mott MacDonald who have been part of Wales for over 60 years with offices in Cardiff, Newport, Carmarthen and Colwyn Bay; have been commissioned to lead the delivery of the much needed campus on Park Street as well as the procurement of a Supply Chain Partner to deliver the project to completion.

The company will be working closely with Powys County Council’s design team to ensure suitable coordination with the school part of the Campus. The council’s team are already working on plans for a new school building for Ysgol Calon y Dderwen.

Plans for the health and wellbeing campus include a new hospital building for Newtown (including an Urgent Care Centre, in-patient beds, a midwife-led birthing unit, more planned care services as well as improved diagnostic equipment), social care and well-being facilities, a new Health and Care Academy working closely with the town’s library and a small amount of supported housing.

Nigel Brinn (Executive Director at Powys County Council) is the projects joint Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) (along with Powys Teaching Health Board’s Deputy Chief Executive, Hayley Thomas). He commented: I am really pleased to note this important commission and look forward to working with Mott MacDonald as they help move the project from the drawing board to the construction phase.

Alun Rhys Owen MRICS, is Project Director and Regional Lead for Project and Cost Management (Wales & South West) for Mott MacDonald added: “Mott MacDonald are proud and excited to be leading the campus development and working with Powys Teaching Health Board and Powys County Council on this pathfinder project. It will be the integration on a single site between education, health and care facilities that will truly transform this unique development into a wellbeing campus for all the community”.

Mott MacDonald will look to engage with and build on the work done to date by Newtown based Hughes Architects, who previously created concept drawings for the campus.

The North Powys Wellbeing Programme is a partnership of the health board and the council, working under the flag of the Powys Regional Partnership Board. The programme team submitted its Strategic Outline Case to Welsh Government for endorsement in 2022 and is currently working on the next stage – the Outline Business Case as well as an accelerated Business Justification Case for the Infrastructure elements of the campus, due to be submitted later this year.

Mott MacDonald has experience of a wide range of high-profile complex capital projects including the Bristol Temple Quarter and St Philip’s Marsh regeneration programme, incorporating a refurbishment of Bristol Temple Meads station.  Mott MacDonald also managed the development of surge hospitals across the UK during the pandemic for the NHS; winning a number of awards including Constructing Excellence National Award for ‘Integration and Collaborative Working’ for The Dragons Heart Hospital, built within the Principality Stadium for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.