21 Nov 2022

We are delighted to have submitted planning for a state-of-the-art hub for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST).

The modern building will provide significantly improved facilities for staff, including an outside gym, quiet spaces, a wellbeing garden and fishpond, kitchen and dining area and training rooms.

It will also include a “make ready” zone, where a dedicated team will work around the clock to clean and restock all vehicles to a consistently high standard. This will mean there is always a fully-stocked, cleaned and checked vehicle ready for crews to use so that they can deliver life-saving care to patients.

The hub has been carefully designed to minimise its environmental impact, in line with our commitment to our net zero strategy. It will be powered by photovoltaic cells on its roof and constructed using greener materials and construction methods wherever possible.

The revamped station – which will be known as a central reporting hub – will be developed at Suffolk Park on the Moreton Hall estate, which neighbours the A14.

Subject to planning permission, construction will begin in early 2023, with the building expected to be operational by summer 2024.

Jackie Nugent, Infrastructure and Estates Transformation Programme Lead at EEAST, said: “We are investing significantly in our estates so that we can provide modern, fit-for-purpose facilities for our staff while improving the response we are able to provide to the public.

“The hub in Bury will be first of a number of new stations we develop across the region. It will include an on-site vehicle workshop, which will allow us to bring maintenance in-house and keep more ambulances on the road. The hub will also have 24/7 make ready facilities so that we can make sure our vehicles are prepared to a consistently high standard. This will free up frontline clinicians from doing this prep work so that they can focus on what they do best – caring for patients.

“Importantly, the hub will also provide a vastly improved working environment for our staff and new facilities, such as gym and dedicated welfare spaces where crews can relax between calls, in turn boosting their wellbeing.

“This flagship development will form a blueprint which we will then roll out across the rest of our patch to ensure our committed teams are working from the right buildings and with the right vehicles and equipment to provide the highest quality care to our patients.”

A computer-generated walk-through showing the basic lay out of the building is available here: https://vimeo.com/736172875/6068d97c2f

Ashley Seymour, our Development Director, said: “We are excited to be working in partnership with EEAST following a competitive tender and to have now submitted a planning application. The new central reporting hub will host a number of key facilities to help deliver a better service to patients and will be a blueprint for future schemes”.

Ed Sutton, Managing Director, LSP Developments, said: ‘LSP are delighted to be working alongside Assura again and in partnership with EEAST. Our aim is to work proactively and collaboratively with all Stakeholders and the wider team, generating positive working relationships to ensure the successful delivery of this important project’