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Western follows up handover of £11m Colchester health facility

Western follows up handover of £11m Colchester health facility with inclusion in £1bn public sector Framework

Tyrone-based Western has been appointed to its sixth major UK Framework in recent months.

The company, which specialises in modular and offsite construction solutions, has secured a place on the £1bn NHS Commercial Solutions Framework for the procurement of temporary and permanent modular and prefabricated units for the public sector in England.

The latest success follows inclusion in the LHC Modular Building (MB3) Framework, from which a range of Permanent Modular, Healthcare, Temporary Hire and Refurbished buildings will be procured.

Others include:

  • NHS SBS: Modular Buildings 3 Framework Agreement for the procurement of new build modular accommodation across the public sector.
  • ESPO Framework Modular Education, Healthcare, Catering and Accommodation buildings.
  • LCP Education Framework for Traditional Construction and Modern Methods of Construction new builds.
  • OCS Framework for CCS Modular Buildings.

Western, which offers right-fit building solutions across the public and private sectors within the UK and Ireland, recently handed over an £11m SNEE Endoscopy Unit at Colchester Hospital for the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

This 67-week project was awarded to Western following a rigorous tender process, where the team achieved the highest scoring evaluation criteria for both quality and cost competitiveness.  

Western’s team used a hybrid construction solution, combining off-site manufactured components with traditional methods to accelerate delivery and ensure compliance with demanding healthcare standards such as Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) and Health Building Note (HBN). 

The 2100m² Endoscopy Unit was largely manufactured offsite within a hybrid steel frame system that incorporated concrete floors to achieve the specialist floor loadings and vibration criteria required for sensitive clinical environments. 

The project was fully designed in Building Information Modelling (BIM), which provided clear benefits, including virtual walk-throughs to support stakeholder engagement and design sign-off.

Western also delivered road widening works, landscaping and installation of an electric vehicle charging infrastructure.  

The facility was developed to expand the Trust’s capacity for day surgery endoscopy procedures, including gastrointestinal endoscopy, colonoscopy, and other specialist treatments. 

The project has received a BREEAM "Very Good" rating, which indicates a high level of sustainability performance in the building. The endoscopy unit also features an A1 Energy Rating.  

Western was also awarded another prestigious project through the NHS SBS framework. The new £11.7m Corby Community Diagnostic Centre at Willowbrook Health Centre, in Northamptonshire, will provide around 93,000 tests each year, including MRI, CT, ultrasound, and a comprehensive range of respiratory, heart, and blood diagnostics. The state-of-the-art facility is designed to give patients faster access to life saving diagnoses while easing demand on main hospital sites.

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