Plymouth University is making significant progress on work to create an outstanding facility to support its Faculty of Health in delivering the next generation of health professionals.
In recent months, the University and its appointed contractors Kier have been carrying out enabling works on the 11-storey building overlooking Plymouth Railway Station, to be called Intercity Place.
This has included removing existing fixtures and fittings which will be replaced with the equipment required to train future nurses, midwives, paramedics, physiotherapists, and other allied health professionals.
Refurbishment and reuse of the existing building will reduce the carbon impact and is highly sustainable. Revised plans for Intercity Place have been approved by Plymouth City Council, which allows for façade amendments that will support a sustainable heating, cooling and ventilation strategy.
The project is on schedule to be finished well in advance of the 2023/2024 academic year, meaning that new students arriving this September will be able to train in its facilities during their course of their studies.
The University is also continuing to work with Plymouth City Council, Network Rail and Great Western Railway as the building forms a key element of the wider regeneration planned for the Brunel Plaza area.
Professor Judith Petts, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth, said: “This is an important development for both the University and the city, and it is exciting to see it really taking shape.
“The University is already the largest provider of healthcare training in the South West, and this will dramatically enhance the education and experience we can offer students across the Faculty of Health.
“It will ensure we can continue to meet the demand for frontline hospital and healthcare workers in Plymouth, the wider South West and beyond. It will also create a real focal point in this key part of our community at a time when regeneration and rejuvenation has never been more important.”
This is the latest project on which Kier has worked with the University, having previously constructed the £17 million Derriford Research Facility which was opened by The Princess Royal in May 2018.
Within Plymouth, the company is also currently developing the UK’s first marine Enterprise Zone at Oceansgate, and working with Building Plymouth to provide a range of job, training and career opportunities for residents of the city.
Doug Lloyd, operations director of Kier Regional Building Western & Wales, said:
“We are delighted to be working with the University of Plymouth again, this time transforming a building that is a focal point of the city. Over the duration of the project, we will collaborate with all parties involved as it is central to the wider Brunel Plaza masterplan.
“We have an unrivalled legacy in Plymouth, delivering for communities in the city and across Devon and Cornwall since the 1930s. We will work with our skilled and local supply chain partners to deliver this important new facility for the University.”
