23
Aug
Explained: What is Harrogate hospital's new entrance project and who is paying for it?
After some 30 years, Harrogate District Hospital looks set to get a new entrance.
Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said the move has been a long time coming and will revitalise the front of the hospital site.
It comes as part of a £4.5 million project, which will be taken on by Ripon-based Noviniti – but there will be no cost to the trust.
So how does this work, and what exactly will the project entail?
What is the new entrance project?
The hospital trust has drawn up plans to reconfigure the front entrance of the building on Lancaster Park Road, as well as its café, waiting areas and reception area.
The move will see an extension built to the entrance on Lancaster Park Road to create additional communal and retail space.
According to proposals submitted to North Yorkshire Council, the scheme will create a flat-roofed, “modest” single-storey extension, which will provide 85 sq m of internal floorspace.
Why is the trust doing this?
For those at the hospital trust, the project has been a long time coming.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret about the proposals in July, Mr Coulter said the entrance to the site had not been addressed for some 30 years, adding that the current facade looked “tired” and was in need of a refurbishment.
Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
Mr Coulter said:
The reason for doing it is that it must be 30 years since it was looked at and it is very, very tired and not something that we are particularly proud of in terms of the hospital.
He added that the entrance was “not really the environment that we want people to come into”.
How much will it cost?
According to the contract published on the government’s portal, the scheme is expected to be valued at £4.2 million.
However, the project is set to be financed and taken on by Noviniti, which will oversee the construction of the new entrance.
The company, which is based at Newby Hall and has constructed similar schemes in Warwick and Portsmouth, builds extensions at no cost to NHS trusts and leases retail space to create what is describes as a "secured income stream".
It funds these projects through its funding partners, such as LGPS Central and Macquarie Asset Management, which helped to finance the building of the entrance at Warwick hospital.
According to its website, the company says the retail space at its NHS entrance schemes generates "sufficient rental income to fully finance the project funding requirement".
It adds that the income stream can also provide a "residual amount", which can be used for other hospital capital schemes.
The retail space is leased to businesses such as Costa Coffee, M&S and Starbucks.
The Stray Ferret approached Noviniti for comment for this article, and to ask how the surplus income from its retail outlets is funnelled back to NHS trusts and how it makes money back from construction.
However, the company said it was unable to provide a statement at this time due to procurement rules.
When will it be finished?
According to the trust, hospital officials expect the project to be completed in spring 2027.
Meanwhile, an HDFT spokesperson confirmed it hoped to start work on the scheme in autumn this year.
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