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Public, private and voluntary sectors partners gathered to mark the official opening of the stunning Wilberforce Health Centre.
Headlined by Rt Hon Alan Johnson, West Hull and Hessle MP, guests got to hear how the facility will help to improve health and community services for local people and encourage regeneration in the city centre area. Alan said: ‘This is a day when we can really be proud of what everyone has achieved together. It was a heavily bombed part of Hull and it was never restored to the vibrant community it was before the war. People are now encouraged to walk through and it's a genuine part of the local community. I'm immensely proud.”
Designed, developed and delivered by Citycare Ltd. on behalf of their client NHS Hull, as part of the national Lift Programme, the building is positioned prominently within a strategic development area at the heart of Hull city centre, with retail, office, residential and leisure uses all adjacent to the facility.
Pauline Davis, Director of Regeneration, Hull City Council: “The Albion Square area is part of the Council’s longer term regeneration plan; Wilberforce Health Centre allows people to envisage exactly what the area will look like when these plans become a reality. We’re already beginning to see the effects of having such a stunning building positioned at the heart of the city centre, several new businesses are flourishing on the back of the increased footfall and I expect other new developments, both commercial and residential, will begin to spring up in the area.”
Opening its doors in December 2011, the £16.5m building is already drawing footfall to the area, and several longstanding vacant retail units adjacent are now occupied. It is intended that c60,000 visitors a year will attend the centre and make use of surrounding facilities.
Gareth Rooney, Director, Yum Sandwich Company Ltd: “The health centre has been an amazing catalyst for Yum Sandwich Company Ltd. We started trading three or four weeks before the health centre opened its doors and the streets were empty. Now the majority of people who work in the health centre, and many who use the facility come across to us. Business has definitely picked up and a critical component has been the increased traffic in the area as a result of Wilberforce.”
The building houses a unique mix of services including 3 GP Practices, a walk in centre, (open 8am-8pm, 365 days per year) a young people’s drop in, addiction treatment services, ambulance service and its very own community cafe.
Dr Tony Banerjee, a Hull GP and Chair of the NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group:
“Having watched Wilberforce Health Centre being constructed over the last couple of years, it’s great to see it open and welcoming patients who are now reaping the benefits. Local people deserve to receive their healthcare in first-class surroundings which have been designed with them in mind.
“Wilberforce Health Centre offers a wide range of services to help improve health in the city, and I look forward to seeing more of the benefits in the months and years to come.”
