Great Western Hospital

Sustainable Construction in PFI Development

The hospital incorporates sustainability

The Great Western Hospital is a new £100 million building which opened in December 2002 to replace Swindon’s Princess Margaret hospital. Sustainable development considerations were integrated throughout the design and construction process.  Some examples of where this was applied include:

• Carillion (the main contractor) incorporated sustainability considerations during the bidding process and throughout the construction process.
• Environmental life cycle assessments were carried out on most construction materials, as well as life cycle costing for the duration of the PFI contract.
• Transport impact assessments were carried out for all major deliveries of materials and a bus stop provided.
• Minimisation of construction waste was considered in depth such as using prefabricated components, like plasterboard walls, which produce less waste and minimise delivery journeys.
• Attention was also given to protecting site biodiversity. Trees from the original farm were incorporated in the site design, which included new natural habitat for local wildlife. Badgers, living on the site were carefully moved and a pond was specifically created to alleviate the effect of surface water run off to a nearby watercourse.
• The development also helped boost the local economy and community. Carillion set up a job centre on the site to promote local employment during the construction, and offered training opportunities, and work placements. More than 150 jobs were created locally.