Three public bodies, one tight site, a £39m diagnostics programme held together

The challenge

Pitsea Community Diagnostic Centre forms part of the NHS England Community Diagnostic Centre programme and is delivered through a partnership involving Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Basildon Borough Council and Essex County Council.

The project combined healthcare, civic and library facilities on a constrained brownfield site with limited survey information, live utilities and competing stakeholder priorities.

Programme and cost pressures remained a constant challenge.

The solution

Bellrock was appointed as NHS P23 Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor during design development.

Our team coordinated stakeholder governance, managed risk, programme and cost controls and supported NEC contract administration throughout the pre-construction phase.

Key interventions included:

• Alignment of three public-sector organisations
• Programme challenge and optimisation
• Compensation event and risk management
• Value engineering workshops
• Modular construction feasibility assessments
• Resolution of site utility constraints

One significant intervention confirmed a required cable clearance of 500mm rather than the assumed 4m exclusion zone, protecting the building footprint and avoiding major cost and programme impacts.

When the project transitioned to a modular solution under a new contractor, Bellrock was retained as Employer's Agent, Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor.

The outcome

• £39m NHS-funded programme supported
• 5,000m² of diagnostic, civic and library accommodation
• Three public bodies aligned within one programme
• Site utility challenges resolved without significant redesign
• Cost and programme risks actively controlled
• Bellrock retained through procurement and contract changes

Client Quote

"Bellrock held a complex three-way partnership together and gave us honest answers on cost at every stage, including when the answer was to change course."

Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust