£84.5m hospital planned for Denbighshire

A new mental health unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd is the subject of a consultation after the previous plans were rejected by the local authority in 2021.

Denbighshire County Council vetoed the earlier outline planning application because of its location on the south-west corner of the hospital campus off Rhuddlan Road in Bodelwyddan. A mental health unit on that part of the plot would impact neighbouring residential properties, the council argued.

In its new application, the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has shifted the mental health hospital’s location from the south-west corner to the north-west corner, farther away from the residences.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is targeting a BREEAM rating of Excellent with its proposed mental health facility. Credit: via consultation documents

Designed by Powell Dobson Architects, the £84.5m mental health hospital would replace the Ablett Unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd as well as the Older People’s Mental Health inpatient facility at Bryn Hesketh in Colwyn Bay.

The new mental health hospital would be 105,400 sq ft and three storeys at its tallest. There would be 59 patient beds and four distinct wards. Of those wards, two would be for adult acute care, while the other two would be reserved for older people.

Because of the nature of care, there would be individual rooms for all the facility’s patients, to enable them to stay overnight or longer if needed.

In addition to bed spaces, the hospital building would have therapy rooms, gym rooms, visitor facilities, a reception, a café, and social spaces. On its premises would sit a central courtyard and patient garden spaces.

BCUHB is targeting a BREEAM rating of Excellent for the hospital, which would have solar panels incorporated onto its roof.

Outdoor spaces are incorporated into the plans to hep encourage patient wellbeing. Credit: via consultation documents

With its new location on the north-west part of the 45-acre campus, the mental health unit would be built on top of a surface car park. To help make up for lost spaces, a new three-storey car park would be constructed on the north-east corner of the campus.

Main contractor BAM Construction is aiming to start work on building the car park and hospital in spring 2024, subject to planning permission. The target completion date is 2026 for the project.

Funding for the mental health hospital comes from the Welsh Government.

In addition to BAM and Powell Dobson, the project team includes planner Tetra Tech, engineer Ramboll, M&E engineers Arup and Lorne Stewart, and landscape architect Soltys Brewster.

The consultation on the proposals runs until 5 March. You can access the consultation documents at bcuhb.nhs.wales.