The NHS is to take office space in Bewley House, Chippenham, in a deal that means the former headquarters of North Wiltshire District Council is fully occupied again.
Wiltshire NHS Primary Care Trust has signed a 10-year lease with Bewley House owners, based-based HPH Commercial Property, for the entire first floor of the building. It is the largest office let in Chippenham since 2010.
The move will give the new NHS National Commission Board Area Team for Bath, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Swindon larger premises from which to manage primary healthcare commissioning across southern England. More than 50 administrative staff based in Devizes and Gloucester will relocate to the 5,125 sq ft of fully-refurbished first floor and mezzanine office next month.
The Swindon offices of property consultants Alder King and Whitmarsh Lockhart acted as joint agents on behalf of HPH.
Lindsay Holdoway, managing director of HPH, which has owned Bewley House since 2001, said: “We take a proactive approach to reducing running costs for the occupiers and have introduced a number of innovations.
“As a result, emissions are now 50% less than they were five years ago, meaning annual savings of £25,000 in the building’s utility bills – a saving which we have passed on to our tenants.
“We are absolutely delighted that this positive approach has paid dividends and that Bewley House is now fully occupied again. We are currently fitting out the premises for the tenant which is another service we are able to offer with our hands-on approach to management.”
James Gregory, partner at Alder King’s Swindon office, added: “Bewley House was the obvious choice for the new regional Commission Board which will benefit from the proximity to all the town centre facilities not least the mainline railway station. Furthermore, the property has a very high car parking ratio more commonly found at an out-of-town business park.”
