Wellbeing is central to modern day living and the newly completed South Trafford Health & Wellbeing Centre demonstrates how facilities can be placed at the heart of the local community. For clients Citybranch, we were civil and structural engineers for the £20million building that was designed by AFL Architects and built by lead contractors Bowmer & Kirkland. The scheme also included public realm works to Potts St and Greenwood St and the installation of a new public sculpture called ‘The Eudaemonium’ which sits outside the main entrance to the library. The project recently reached practical completion and the building will open to the public in the next couple of months.

The centre is built on the site of the former Altrincham Hospital on Market Street, just next to the regenerated Old Market Place conservation area. The structure comprises a four storey steel frame and single storey basement. The basement occupies the full extents of the site and serves as car park space for the building. The new building has retained features of the original hospital, in particular the original façade, which is of local historic importance, was retained and incorporated within the brickwork and curtain walling of the new building. The building will house a new and improved library for the town and it is also expected to house GP health services, Tourist information centre, together with a mix of community services and therapies, a pharmacy and training areas, as well as a minor surgery suite, retail space and a café.

The project presented some interesting challenges including supporting the original hospital façade on the new superstructure as well as working within a very tight site and minimising disruption to numerous stakeholders within the vibrant town centre streets surrounding the development.