The UK’s greenest health centre built has opened its doors to patients.

The £3.3m Foleshill Heath Centre in Coventry was developed through collaboration between Community Health Partnerships (CHP) and NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

And it will house the Foleshill Surgery, part of Coventry and Rugby GP Alliance. 

The building has five consulting rooms and two treatment rooms and serves an area of Coventry with high health needs.

It has been built to be one of the most-energy-efficient buildings in the NHS estate and was constructed on site in just 25 weeks, significantly quicker than a traditionally-constructed building.  

As the health estate makes up 4-5% of England’s carbon footprint, it is vital to find ways forward to reducing this and we are very proud to have led the way with our partners at Foleshill

Developed with Portakabin modules specially designed to international Passivhaus sustainability standards, it marks a major milestone for volumetric modular construction. 

The modules were designed and manufactured by Portakabin at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in York. 

Using exacting standards of engineering to tolerances of 1mm, the Portakabin team delivered precise control across every aspect of the project from product design to manufacturing, measuring every resource used and any waste generated.  

The units were then transported to Coventry and reassembled, becoming watertight in just three days. 

The final fitout, plus adding the insulation and the roof were completed on site.

“This is a very exciting project which has taken a lot of work to get over the line,” said Malcolm Twite, CHP’s executive director for property performance.  

“It paves the way for future sustainable developments which will make a valuable contribution to the NHS Carbon Footprint Plus target for net zero by 2045.  

“As the health estate makes up 4-5% of England’s carbon footprint, it is vital to find ways forward to reducing this and we are very proud to have led the way with our partners at Foleshill.”

Passivhaus is the leading international low-energy design standard, providing a high level of occupant comfort while using very little energy for heating and cooling. 

This pilot project is pushing the boundaries of offsite construction within the public sector as well as the perceptions of that which can be achieved with Modern Methods of Construction

They are built with meticulous attention to detail and rigorous design and construction according to principles developed by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany and are certified via an exacting independent quality assurance process.

Lee Connolly, head of project design and engineering at Portakabin, said: “This pilot project is pushing the boundaries of offsite construction within the public sector as well as the perceptions of that which can be achieved with Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).  

“Foleshill is showcasing the flexibility of MMC and is a bold and brave step toward creating a legacy of buildings that will help the construction industry proactively tackle climate change.”

Dr Sarah Raistrick, chairman of NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group, adds: “We are really excited to see patients move into this fantastic efficient modular build. 

“The services that will be provided from this building will ensure we continue to provide high-quality, safe and effective care for the local residents of Foleshill.”

Foleshill already has an energy performance certificate (EPC) ‘A Rating’, making it one of the most-energy-efficient health building in the UK.  

Foleshill is showcasing the flexibility of MMC and is a bold and brave step toward creating a legacy of buildings that will help the construction industry proactively tackle climate change

And the annual utilities running costs are projected to be around a third of the cost of a traditional build, giving significant savings over its lifetime.

There is a small heating system using air source heat pumps connected to small radiators and solar panels have been installed on the roof. 

In addition, all the lighting is provided by energy efficient LED lamps.

The building was delivered through a partnership between CHP and NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) without the need for debt funding or joint ventures and using the NHS SBS procurement framework.

Delivery partners included Portakabin as the main contractor; Tooley Foster Architects as Passivhaus specialists; AECOM as infrastructure consultants; and Arden Estate Partnerships as development management partner.