National Park Authority backs Badenoch and Strathspey Community Hospital
Proposals for a new Badenoch and Strathspey community hospital in Aviemore reached a major milestone today when the planning application was approved by the Cairngorms National Park Authority planning committee.
The committee unanimously backed plans for the development, which is being delivered by hub North Scotland on behalf of NHS Highland as part of a £30.5 million Design Build, Finance and Maintain (DBFM) bundle which also includes a new community hospital planned for Skye.
The Badenoch and Strathspey community hospital will be built on land south of a former call centre in the Aviemore Technology Park and the nine-acre site has already been purchased by the health authority.
The full business case for the project will be presented to the Scottish Government shortly for approval and construction work will begin when that is granted.
Once completed, the new facility will feature a community hospital and health centre and it will bring together inpatient services with Aviemore Medical Practice, the Scottish Ambulance Service and community health and care teams.
The new community hospital and Medical Practice will feature:
- 24 inpatient beds
- 12 consulting/treatment rooms in Aviemore Medical Practice
- Three Minor Injuries/Out-of-Hours treatment rooms
- Scottish Ambulance Service base
- X-ray facilities
- Outpatient department with six consulting/clinic rooms; a group therapy room; physiotherapy gym; podiatry and dental rooms
- Allied Health Professionals; physiotherapy; occupational therapy; podiatry; speech and language and dietetics
- Office base for NHS Highland community integrated teams and Highland Council care and learning staff
The new facility will also include a transport “hub at the hospital” with a drop-off area at the front entrance for commercial buses, community and local transport providers. Electronic bus timetable information will be provided both inside and outside the building.
A minimum of 128 parking spaces are proposed for patients, visitors and staff and high-quality cycle shelters will be provided near the main entrance.
The landscaping at the hospital will include a therapy garden area for local community groups, and paths through the site will encourage continued community use of the amenity space to the rear of the hospital and link with proposed active travel routes in the wider Aviemore area.
NHS Highland’s project director for the Badenoch and Strathspey redesign Georgia Haire said: “This is another exciting step. The approval of the planning application signals that we are at an advanced stage in the design of the new facility and follows on from the confirmation of the land purchase this week.
“We are delighted the National Park planning committee recognised not only the quality of the proposed design but also the extensive involvement of local stakeholders and communities throughout the design process which has enabled the design team to achieve this standard.
“This investment from NHS Highland underlines our commitment to improving health and social care services across Highland.”
Michael Padzinski, chief executive of hub North Scotland, said: “We are delighted to see these plans successfully reach such a key landmark on the journey to provide a state-of-the-art healthcare facility for the people of Badenoch and Strathspey and are looking forward to working with our partners to deliver it.”
Balfour Beatty is the main contractor for the development with Edinburgh-based Oberlanders and Rural Design from Portree as architects.