Local NHS workers will benefit from quality new homes as housing provider Optivo officially unveils the first of 147 new apartments at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey.
On Tuesday (1 November) Optivo hosted an event at the site to celebrate the completion of Phase One of the multi-million pound development.
The housing provider has now delivered the first phase of the development which includes 75 apartments of one, two and four bedrooms across six three-storey blocks. The second phase, which has already begun, will see the existing accommodation replaced with a further 72 apartments of one, two and four bedrooms.
Representatives from Optivo, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Employer’s Agent Baily Garner and Runnymede Borough Council gathered to mark the milestone of Phase One completing.
Julie Smith, Chief Executive of Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust added: “I’m really pleased to see some of our vision as an anchor organisation coming to fruition to improve the environment and improve sustainability for the local community and for our staff with the modernisation of our key worker accommodation. I look forward to seeing the completion of phase two and the benefits it will bring.”
The site is located just over a mile from the centre of Chertsey and will benefit from the existing services that currently facilitate the St Peter’s Hospital site. The previous accommodation, which was built in the early 1970s, was becoming harder to maintain, was no longer fit for purpose and needed modernising. The development follows many detailed conversations between Optivo and Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to make sure they were delivering homes where staff would want to live.
Paul Hackett, Chief Executive of Optivo, said: “Providing safe and secure homes for keyworkers is extremely important to the Trust and to Optivo. Our NHS workers deserve great homes that they can afford. We recognise there’s a link between the quality of homes and their wellbeing – better homes mean happier staff for the Trust, and a better patient experience. I’m extremely proud that we’ve been able to deliver top quality, affordable accommodation for families and single people, in a well-designed mixed-tenure development, set within attractive landscaped grounds.”
Phase Two of this development is due to complete in Summer 2024.
* For more information about Optivo’s keyworker accommodation visit www.optivokeyworkers.co.uk
Pictured above: Paul Hackett and Julie Smith
