Friday, February 27, 2004
Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital hosted a turf-cutting ceremony at 2.00pm on 26 February to formally mark the start of construction work on a new multi-storey car park on the hospital campus.
Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital hosted a turf-cutting ceremony at 2.00pm on 26 February to formally mark the start of construction work on a new multi-storey car park on the hospital campus.Equion, a division of John Laing plc, will build the 810-space facility for the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust in a deal worth Ł8 million.
Equion was appointed preferred bidder by the Trust in April 2003 for a major scheme to rationalise acute services across Newcastle. Following an extensive review, acute services in the city will be moved from three sites to two – each benefiting from truly modern facilities for patients and staff. At the Freeman Hospital, there will be new cancer and renal services whilst the Royal Victoria Hospital will benefit from both new accident and emergency and children’s facilities. The proposed 35-year, Ł250 million project involves a combination of new buildings, repair and refurbishment of existing facilities as well as ongoing maintenance and repair work for the duration of the partnership. Construction is expected to last five years. Gary Lucas, Director of Equion said “We are delighted to be working in partnership already with Newcastle-upon-Tyne NHS Hospitals Trust. As preferred bidder on the project to rebuild and redevelop the Freeman and Royal Victoria Hospitals, we are looking forward to working with the Trust in the future to make sure this project delivers first rate health facilities and contributes towards the continuing regeneration of Newcastle as a city. This car park is an important first step along the way.” Sir Miles Irving, Chairman of Newcastle-upon-Tyne NHS Hospital Trust said: “It may seem a little odd to build a car park first but the scale of the new clinical buildings is such that we would not have been able to carry on our existing services without first sorting out the parking. We shall also need extra spaces for when we bring the cancer services across from the Newcastle General Hospital in Spring 2007. We know we shall need hundreds of extra spaces for the patients, staff and visitors of the new facilities. The development footprint of the cancer and renal building will remove 240 spaces, which are mainly used by staff at present. We also lose a further 198 spaces under the new car park itself and as a consequence of enabling works, so you begin to see why the need is so substantial”. ENDS 1.) Equion plc Equion plc, a division of John Laing plc, is a specialist provider of facilities in the PFI (Private Finance Initiative) and PPP (Private Public Partnerships) markets with a long-term perspective and approach. Equion offers a combination of skills and experience, from planning and funding through to design, construction and operation. Equion is actively involved in the management of a wide range of police, education, health, defence and special purpose serviced accommodation projects including: - the new Norfolk & Norwich, and Queen Elizabeth (Greenwich) Hospitals - a radical restructuring of primary health care facilities in Manchester, Salford and Trafford - 17 new PFI police stations & facilities for the Greater Manchester Police Authority - South East London Police Stations for the Metropolitan Police - A specialist public order training centre in Gravesend for the Metropolitan Police - the Ministry of Defence Main Building refurbishment in Whitehall - the Joint Services Command and Staff College at Shrivenham - Highlands Secondary School in Enfield - South East Essex College at Southend The company is one of the most successful participants in the Government's Private Finance Initiative and has a proven record of delivering new investments on time and on cost. Equion won the Infrastructure Journal PPP Developer of the Year Award in 2002 and 2003 and the award for Global Developer of the Year in 2004. http://www.equion.plc.uk/ 2.) John Laing plc, a publicly quoted company, holds a large and expanding portfolio of investments spanning transport (including 100% ownership of Chiltern Railways), health, education and special purpose government facilities. The majority of the investments are within the UK though a number are in continental Europe. http://www.laing.com/Notes to Editors