A new high street health facility will boost public health and wellbeing when it opens in a busy Middlesbrough shopping centre.
The Live Well centre will relocate to the Cleveland Centre, bringing two empty shops back into use in a bid to engage with Middlesbrough residents and improve the overall health of the town.
Middlesbrough Council has appointed Walter Thompson, in partnership with Tom Willoughby, its sister company within the FT Construction Group, as contractor. Internal work to strip back the units to be fitted out has begun, after it was agreed that planning permission for the centre was not needed.
Accessed from Albert Road, opposite Middlesbrough Town Hall, the Live Well allows residents to drop-in and benefit from a wide range of services in a convenient and easily accessible facility.
Mayor Chris Cooke said: “I’m delighted that we’re now in a position to make this move, which supports my ambition to build a healthier, safer and more ambitious Middlesbrough.
“A massive range of services are already delivered at the Live Well Centre which is a real asset to the town, but this move will mean it can reach even more people in such a central location.
“The mix on offer, delivered by our public health staff, local NHS teams and other providers, means that everyone, of any age in Middlesbrough, will benefit from using the Live Well Centre.
“I’d like to welcome Tom Willoughby as the main contractor on site and looking forward to seeing work ongoing as we make real progress in our town centre.”
Dean Wilson, Director of Tom Willoughby, said: "We are thrilled to have been selected as the main contractor for the relocation of The Live Well Centre as this move, along with the expansion of health services offered will significantly benefit the lives of many residents of Middlesbrough."
The Live Well boasts a gym to allow for physio and specialist health referrals from GPs, has kitchen areas to teach cookery classes and help manage issues with nutrition and obesity, while Middlesbrough smokers can quit the habit at the smoking cessation service.
The huge range of services also includes a welfare rights service, children’s social work teams, sexual health clinics and access to service signposting.
NHS services like bowel screening, diabetes remission, TB clinics and pulmonary rehab are also delivered from the centre.
All of those services will move from the current Live Well facility – which is spread over four upper floors in Dundas House - when its lease expires later this year.
In addition, young people and families outreach workers from the ACT partnership - which helps vulnerable young people who need support with domestic abuse, homelessness, or substance use - will also move across from the current facility.
This will support the centre's wider offer to children and young people.
Adult services will continue to be delivered at alternative locations in the town.
Discussions are ongoing to bring other new services addressing public health needs in Middlesbrough, like access to dentistry, to the revamped centre.
The Live Well Centre will bring the former Vision Express and George units in the council-owned Cleveland Centre back to life after years of standing empty, with a major fit-out providing clinic rooms installed to CQC standards.
The move is supported by government funding which aims to target support at projects which will revitalise high streets, healthcare, transport and education, and create more affordable housing.