Prima 200 wins ‘Best LIFT Area’ and ‘LIFT Exemplar’ awards

Prima 200 has won the CHP LIFT Area of the Year Award and LIFT Exemplar Award for Mill Rise Village & Milehouse Primary Care Centre at the prestigious Community Health Partnerships (CHP) LIFT Awards 2010.

The awards recognise Prima 200 as the leader within its field for providing innovative healthcare centres within North Staffordshire through strong public-private partnership.

Prima 200, which has completed ten new NHS health centres across North Staffordshire, scooped the ‘LIFT Area of the Year’ award after judges recognised its five years of successful partnerships, including those with 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 well being of local residents.

Mill Rise Village, developed and delivered by Prima 200 in partnership with Prime plc received the ‘Exemplar’ award for being an outstanding example of how public private collaboration can achieve real benefits for local communities and trigger wider community regeneration. The £15 million unique mixed-use-scheme, designed by healthcare specialists One Creative Environments Ltd twins the state of the art Milehouse Primary Care Centre with a 60-bed extra care retirement village located in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

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 the 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. 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, Prima 200 has demonstrated that working as a partnership through a property-based framework with partner Prime plc can deliver a complex development that is delivered on time, within budget and offers multiple benefits for the community.

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.

Formed in 2005, Prima 200 is one of 48 other LIFT companies based in towns and cities up and down the country that are all working hard to regenerate health and social care facilities, making it a great accolade for Prima 200 to receive the ‘LIFT Area of the Year’ and for Mill Rise to be recognised as ‘LIFT Exemplar’ in these national awards. Prima 200 was also recognised as Best LIFT Company in the Public Private Awards 2010 earlier this year.

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.”

Tony Bruce, Chief Executive of NHS North Staffordshire, comments: “Mill Rise 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.”

Dr Ann Pursey, Chief Executive of Prima 200, adds: “It is fantastic that Prima 200 and its partners have been recognised for delivering much needed health and social services to local communities in the area. My thanks go to everyone involved, including those local community members who have been actively supporting each new development. These awards are a reflection of how well the partnership is working in North Staffordshire and the difference we are making to local people.”

Richard Laing, 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.”