Project
Ancora House (CAMHS)
Project Information
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Overview
DSA worked alongside Gilling Dod Architects and Ryhurst to gain planning permission for the new Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) unit at the Countess of Chester Health Park in Chester. The site adjoins a country park which offered challenges and opportunities. The main challenge was the reduction of any adverse effects of the new building, which we did by carefully limiting the extent of intrusion into existing green space and extensive new planting of woodlands to provide screening.
Planning permission was granted in 2016.
The building contains a challenging seven courtyards or ‘garden courts’, designed to be used in different ways by service users and staff. Unusually, it also is home to a range of pet animals! The construction of the new building allowed a transformation of the existing grass field next to the hospital. This included the construction of new wetlands as part of the Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS), a network of new all-weather paths, seating and wildflower grasslands. A crucial part of the project was the creation of better connections to allow health service staff to get into the park.
The project includes a range of enhancements to the Countess of Chester Country Park areas that remain in NHS ownership, including signage, hedges and bird and bat boxes and a ranger station as well as artworks.
