Berwick Community Hospital faces further delays
A targeted completion date of spring 2028 is now being touted for the £35m project, as replacement contractor Robertson continues to carry out surveys to ascertain what needs to be done.
The building itself is substantially built but remains unfinished. Robertson took over as main contractor on the project in January, following the collapse of Merit in November last year.
The firm has since been undertaking survey work on the site since mid-February and despite hopes the facility would open in 2027, work is now not expected to restart in full until the new year.
Speaking last week, the trust’s executive director of estates and facilities, Damon Kent, said: “The external, as you see of the build, remains in place but internally we do need to strip out some of the building services that have been installed.
“This is quite a complex set of issues in the background. Robertson has taken over the site and its team have a solid track record of delivering a number of projects, particularly in healthcare.
“They also have experience in taking on distressed projects. There’s remedial work that will need to be done – we have one chance to rebuild this hospital and we have got to do it properly.
“We’re currently at a point that we’re hopeful that by the end of September, we will have a new programme from Robertson. Completion is likely to be spring or summer 2028.”
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust received planning approval for the project in 2020, with Merit starting construction in 2023.
The project team included P+HS Architects, planning consultants Lichfields, and project management from Turner & Townsend.
