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Mill Rise Village, developed and delivered by Prime plc through its Prima 200 partnership in North Staffordshire received the major national ‘Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) Exemplar’ award from a panel of independent judges at the prestigious CHP LIFT Awards 2010.
Mill Rise the £15 million unique mixed-use-scheme twins a state of the art Primary Care Centre and a 60 bed extra care retirement village located in Newcastle-under-Lyme. It was selected for the ‘LIFT Exemplar Award’ for being an outstanding example of how public private collaboration can achieve real benefits for local communities and trigger wider community regeneration. On the same night Prima 200 scooped ‘LIFT Area of the Year’.
Mill Rise, which opened last summer, represents a growing trend of developments that use healthcare to anchor other community services such as elderly care, pharmacies and dentistry into a destination. It combines extra care housing for the over 55s with state-of-the-art Milehouse Primary Care Centre and a range of social amenities including a public piazza, restaurant, café, bar and hair salon. Located immediately next door to a major supermarket, it helps to facilitate independent living for residents that may otherwise become increasingly dependent on others.
Designed by health care specialists One Creative Environments Ltd, also part of the Prime plc group, it comprises 60 one- and two-bedroom extra care apartments for rent and shared ownership and further incorporates three GP practices and a pharmacy, all in a secure village style environment. This innovative approach to delivering community services is the result of an eight-strong partnership between: Prime plc, Prima 200, Aspire Housing, RENEW, NHS North Staffordshire, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council and Homes & Communities Agency.
Through Mill Rise, Prime plc and Prima 200 have demonstrated that working as a partnership through a property-based framework can deliver a complex development that is delivered on time, within budget and offers multiple benefits for the community. The partnership secured £15 million by working together with its seven public sector partners. These diverse funding streams were combined to reach successful financial close and allowed the development to provide a range of services to the community in addition to those usually offered by a primary care centre.
Significantly, the village is in a locality designated as an Area of Major Intervention (AMI), an area featuring within the top twenty on government indices of multiple deprivation – economic, health and educational attainment. As part of the area’s wider regeneration, a new development of 160 affordable homes is being built at Mill Rise to further add to the community feel of the development.
Prima 200’s ‘LIFT Area of the Year’ award recognises the five years of successful partnership between Prima 200, Prime plc, the area’s PCTs and communities across Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire who have all worked hard together to deliver new health centres to improve the health and wellbeing of local residents.
Prime has developed over 75 health schemes nationally, ten of which form part of the Prima 200 partnership. They have confirmed progress for three further new health schemes in North Staffordshire: a £14 million centre in Cobridge, followed by £10 million projects in both Meir and Biddulph.
Richard Laing, Group Chief Executive at Prime plc, comments: “It is fantastic that Mill Rise has been singled out and recognised as an exemplar project developed as part of a multi-award winning joint venture with the NHS and Local Authority.”
Sinead Butters, Chief Executive of Aspire Housing adds: “I am delighted that Aspire’s first extra care scheme has received such high profile national recognition with yet another award. Mill Rise brings a landmark building and superb facilities to an area of deprivation where local people deserve the best. It has kick started the regeneration of the areas, provided excellent local services and helped to create the right environment for new housing now being built alongside the site.”
Dr Ann Pursey, Chief Executive of Prima 200, adds: “It is fantastic that Prima 200 and its partners have been recognised for improving and delivering much needed health and social services to local communities in the area particularly through schemes such as Mill Rise.”
Tony Bruce, Chief Executive of NHS North Staffordshire, comments: “This was a very exciting development for the people of Milehouse and brings much needed health facilities to the area in a modern, purpose-built centre. It was a unique project combining health and social housing together on one site, and we are very pleased to be part of this successful partnership.”
Dawn Wickham, Assistant Chief Executive NHS Stoke on Trent comments: “We are very pleased to be part of a successful public/private partnership that is bringing real benefits to the residents of Stoke on Trent and North Staffordshire. These national awards, and in particular the ‘LIFT Area of the Year’, are recognition of the hard work and determination of all the teams involved. It is hard evidence of a successful partnership that continues to deliver real change, and the modernisation of healthcare in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.”