The £10million project, procured through SCAPE, will create a two-storey structure on designated open space off Belsize Road to house a new community centre on the ground floor, including a dedicated garden, creche, hall and various spaces for classes, as well as a state-of-the-art healthcare centre on the first floor.
The building's design will use brick, timber and glass to ensure it complements its surrounding green open space, which will be carefully landscaped and include a new play area. The scheme will be targeted to a BREEAM rating of Excellent, and its unique timber glulam façade will be manufactured using offsite engineering.
The works form Phase Two of a wider regeneration programme currently being spearheaded by the council – The Abbey Area Masterplan – which aims to bring 241 energy-efficient homes, including new council and affordable homes, and revitalised community facilities to Camden.
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The new facility on Belsize Road will provide a new, merged site for the existing Abbey Community Centre and Belsize Priory Medical Practice into a new community hub. Their current sites will eventually be demolished to make way for new affordable and private homes in Phase Three currently in design.
Wates has already played a large part in delivering the wider Abbey area regeneration, with the firm completing Phase One in February 2019 – which saw the demolition of an underused multi-story car park to deliver the first 141 new homes and additional commercial space.
Phase Two is the latest Wates build to be delivered through SCAPE Construction, a direct award framework designed to drive collaboration, efficiency, time and cost savings on construction projects. The contractor is already working on similar regeneration projects for Incrementum – Warrington Council’s housing development arm – and Burlington Close in Hounslow
As a SCAPE project, ensuring it delivers a positive lasting legacy is key to delivery, and Wates will be targeting local supply chain partners to support the build, as well as providing training and employment opportunities for students in the area.
Planning has been approved with final completion expected April 2022. Other delivery partners include Ikon Consultancy, CBRE, architects AHR, landscape architects Fabrik, engineering partner Stantec and building services engineers Norman Bromley Partnership.
