Woodlands Medical Centre, Paddock Wood

Client: General Practice Investments

 

Location: Paddock Wood, Kent

 

Form of Contract: JCT 1998 with Contractors Design

(with Special Conditions)

 

Value: £2 million

 

Year of Completion: 2006

Provian Construction have successfully designed and built Woodlands Medical Centre at Paddock Wood - the seventh in a series of new build healthcare projects completed by  Provian Construction for GPI, one of the UK’s leading investors and developers in the primary care sector.

 

Measuring almost 1700 sq m, the new centre was built on the same site as the previous Woodlands location. Having demolished the existing premises, the construction phase began in June 2005 and was completed 11 months later.

 

With features including a glazed entrance lobby and a ‘Comfort Cooling’ system, the Woodlands Health Centre heralds a striking and modern design. Comprising three-story accommodation, the Centre now houses facilities for seven GPs, a dental suite and a wide range of patient services.

 

Around nine weeks from completion, children from the local Paddock Wood Primary School were given a guided tour to see the structure in progress.  With an active role in Kent Learning and Skill’s Council’s work placement scheme, Provian used the visit to show five groups of 15 children concrete, steel and timber and their various uses; in particular, how the strength of steel was utilised in the building’s roofing area.

 

The project has remained in keeping with the history of the original health centre which was a highly innovative concept for its time. Built largely at the instigation of Dr MacDonald, it opened in 1971 as one of the first to house District Nurses, Health Visitors, Midwives and Dentists with GPs in a single building.