REPURPOSING BUILDINGS
From supermarket to health and wellness hub
International healthcare consultancy, MJ Medical, is helping a local community bring healthcare to its high street. By refurbishing a derelict supermarket in Helston, it hopes to bring life into the Cornish town, and show what can be achieved across the UK, as director, Kieren Morgan reports.
Right and bottom: Helston’s new health and wellness centre has transformed its high street for the better. The new building’s design complements its neighbouring natural landscape.
Inset, below: This derelict, former supermarket had become an eyesore to Helston’s high street for nearly a decade.
Drive down any UK high street, and you wouldn’t be surprised to see a crumbling building nestled between a charity shop and a store selling vapes. It’s been half a decade or more since the NHS began looking at plans for reimagining vacant high street buildings into primary and community care spaces, but as the NHS continues to battle an endless backlog of appointments, not much progress has been made. The Government has instead continued to focus on developing new buildings on existing hospitals sites, rather than bringing healthcare to the high street. Is this investment short-sighted, however?
Not for the faint-hearted Converting dilapidated buildings certainly isn’t for the faint of heart, and retrofitting them into a healthcare facility brings unique challenges. If, however, incorporating healthcare into our high streets will improve access to it and boost our economy, it would seem to be worth the effort. That is why when we were approached to take part in a local refurbishment project that would retrofit a derelict supermarket into a locally built community space, we jumped at the chance. The Helston Gateway project will bring a GP surgery and community space – re-named Cober Valley Health in January this year after the river course
that runs close to Helston – to the heart of England’s most southerly town – Helston in Cornwall. Even more, the project aims to achieve Net Zero carbon and the highest energy performance rating. So, it’s great for the local economy and healthcare provision, with little environmental footprint, and a project that we couldn’t resist.
South Kerrier Alliance CIC, the community interest company leading the project, gained funding on 1 March 2024, so it was an immediate start. This is quite rare for a major construction project, and was only made possible through a mantra of local procurement underpinned by a very simple NEC 3(c) contract working on an open-book basis to deliver best value. The first two months of the project were spent demolishing the internal structures of the old supermarket – removing the walk-in freezers, the lift and stairs, the tills and conveyors, and the tobacconist’s area. Local people undertook all aspects of the construction on a labour-only basis, even the electricians. As there are no large companies involved in the construction, every penny of the budget has been kept local to the project.
MJ Medical was appointed to develop the proposed design for a 788 m2 floor.
GP surgery for the upper ground
Working at pace We worked at pace to meet both funding and construction programme timelines. Combining our briefing and design expertise, we were able to help the GP team develop its vision for the new centre. The team was looking for a space which would allow it flexibility. Utilising the existing large-span space of the former supermarket, we based the design on an adaptable planning grid with repeatable rooms grouped around a simple circulation layout. This approach allows the practice to adapt its layout and rooms based on changing needs, new models of care, and future technology. The design includes consultation rooms for outpatient appointments. This will alleviate the need for people to travel nearly an hour or more to the main hospital. This brings clear benefits to the rural and more local
36 Health Estate Journal June 2025
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