Willmott Dixon has been appointed by Central Bedfordshire Council to deliver the new £43m Chiltern Vale Integrated Health and Care Hub as well as 98 homes.

Located in Dunstable and procured using the LHC framework, it will bring together care professionals under one roof to deliver health and wellbeing for the local community with support from the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Group.

The 6,375 square metre Hub, consisting of four storeys, will offer a wide range of services, including community mental health and children’s services. The project’s scope also involves Willmott Dixon building 98 homes for residents over 55, offering a mixture of one and two bedroom apartments.

Willmott Dixon’s early involvement in the design saw its team of construction specialists work with Central Bedfordshire Council, the Clinical Commissioning Group, GPs and local NHS providers to develop the service model and schedule of accommodation, which was designed on the principles of cura, Willmott Dixon’s pre-designed integrated health and care hub concept.

cura has the flexibility to enable a bespoke internal layout and future adaptability to meet service changes. The use of cura’s model meant that during the pandemic, Willmott Dixon worked with the customer on revising the internal layout to incorporate resilience against current and future pandemics.

Cllr Eugene Ghent, Executive Member for Housing & Assets at Central Bedfordshire Council:

“I’m delighted we have Willmott Dixon on board and can start work on this exciting development, which will provide much needed housing and a building for health and care services. It will enable more joined-up care and bring a wide range of services closer to people.”

“Willmott Dixon has a strong track record in delivering health and care hubs, and is committed to working in a sustainable and responsible way. This makes them the perfect partner in helping us achieve our vision of providing joined-up health and care services for people in Dunstable and the surrounding villages.”

Chris Tredget, managing director at Willmott Dixon for London and the East:

“We’re delighted to be delivering this exciting new project, which will become a focal point for integrating a range of health and care services within the local community, together with the creation of 98 homes. We’re very much looking forward to getting on site and beginning construction.”