A new £15m town centre health hub in Weston-super-Mare has topped out ahead of its planned opening next summer.

The health centre and GP surgery at Sunnyside Road North will provide facilities serving up to 12,500 people.

The wider masterplan for the project includes the provision of approximately 200 one- and two-bedroom apartment homes on land that is also home to Weston-super-Mare Rugby Club, along with a site on the Recreation Ground earmarked for a new primary school, to be provided by North Somerset Council.  

The project is being overseen by RED Group and led by Bristol-based property developer StudioHIVE together with its partner Atlas Land, working in partnership with North Somerset Council, the NHS and the rugby club.

Representatives from the various partners were joined by Weston-super-Mare MP Dan Aldridge at the topping out ceremony, which saw James Howard, development director at StudioHIVE, use a signed and engraved trowel to symbolically complete the final cast of concrete on the upstand. 

Jason Collard, managing director of StudioHIVE, was joined by several colleagues at the topping out. 

He said: “We’ve been involved in this project for a number of years, and it’s fantastic to have reached this point.

“This is one of the largest health buildings being delivered anywhere in the UK and it will form part of an exciting future for Weston-super-Mare.

“The town really needs this new facility, and it will have a really positive impact on the health and well-being of the area.”  

Dan Aldridge MP said: “Weston needs a health care service fit for the next generation, and I am so proud that the government is investing into Weston.

“My family and friends use the existing Graham Road surgery, and they will be patients when the new health hub replaces it.

“I am keen to work with local providers to ensure it really does deliver for people in Weston.” 

Ian Long, operations director at RED Group, said: “This topping out ceremony represents the ‘home straight’.

“It is a milestone which acknowledges the hard work of all the stakeholders involved, while traditionally it also symbolises a blessing for the building and for the safety of the construction workers as work continues.”

Tim James, associate director of estates at NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, added: “The development of this new facility has been years in the making and is a high priority for local health and care organisations.  

“It is really exciting to be on the home straight as the construction nears completion and we move a step closer to providing a modern, purpose-built facility for local people.”