Legal completion reached on huge new ambulance base
Healthcare property investor and developer Assura has reached legal completion on a development funding agreement for a £22m Ambulance Hub in the West Midlands.
Let to West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS) on a 30-year lease with five-yearly rent reviews linked to RPI, the hub is the largest of its kind in the country.
It will contain essential facilities for the Hazardous Area Response Team, specialist equipment distribution warehouse, training facilities and space for 70 ambulances.
WMAS is the second largest ambulance trust in England, covering 5,000 square miles and serving over 5.6 million people.
The Ambulance Hub will include photovoltaic panels, LED lighting throughout and a heat recovery system and is expected to reach BREEAM rating of “Excellent” and EPC B.
The hub is being developed by Stoford Properties. Construction is expected to take 15 months with rent commencing in Q3 2022.
Jonathan Murphy, CEO, said: “The West Midlands Ambulance Service serves over 5.6 million people, providing critical front-line and Patient Transport Services.
“An effective and modern Ambulance Hub will be critical to the delivery of this essential service, and Assura, with its deep NHS and healthcare experience, is well positioned to provide the required space.
“This development is illustrative of the NHS’s demand for modern, specialist real estate across its operations. The COVID crisis has only increased this demand, and Assura is well placed to provide the specific infrastructure that this country needs in a post-COVID environment.”
