It was a pleasure to visit the site of the new multi-million-pound community hospital in Cinderford.
The project recently passed an important milestone with the official ‘ground breaking’ ceremony on 6th July. I was unable to attend the ceremony as Parliament was sitting, however I recently visited to see for myself the fantastic progress that has been made.
After a challenging couple of years, the preparatory ground work is now in full swing. This modern fit for purpose community hospital will offer a 24-bed in-patient unit alongside provision for dental, X-ray, physiotherapy and endoscopy services, among others that will improve the local health care offer to residents of the Forest of Dean.
The new community hospital is being built with the environment in mind, both inside with a focus on energy efficiency and outside with the planting of 100 new native trees.
Air source heat pumps, used to heat the building instead of a traditional gas supply, will be installed. As well as timber, cladding on the building will incorporate green and grey highlights to blend in with the forest background. It will also be situated lower into the ground, reducing the height of the hospital to help immerse it into the surrounding environment.
The hospital will be completed in early 2024, and I look forward to seeing the progress of the build along the way.
