A Wesham mental health rehabilitation unit delivered by a local firm has secured a prestigious national design award.

The £9.4 million Wesham Rehabilitation Centre, delivered by Preston’s Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP), has received the Design in Mental Health award for ‘Project of the Year – Refurbishment’.

The Wesham Rehabilitation Centre has been refurbished into a new ‘Moving-On’ facility, with two wings providing 28 en-suite bedrooms, shared day space and a kitchen facility where service users are encouraged to develop independent living skills.

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David Simmons, FWP’s associate partner, said: “We’re extremely honoured that the Wesham Rehabilitation Centre has received this prestigious national honour.

“It is a testament to the work of the whole team involved in the project, which showcases how far mental health design has progressed in recent years.

“User and clinical engagement meetings allowed the design to evolve into a unit removed from traditional views of a hospital environment.”

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Leading architect, design and master planning practice FWP led the redevelopment of an existing hospital building at Wesham, which stood empty for over eight years.

The construction work on the project for Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft) was carried out by the Eric Wright Group.

The site has a large, private garden with raised beds, a polytunnel, and grassed patio areas to enjoy.

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Community space has also been included within the new entrance block to encourage the use of the centre by local people, in partnership with the trust.

The Design in Mental Health Network award recognises excellence and innovation in mental health environments that improve patient recovery.

Joanna Stark, the trust’s director of operations for Fylde Coast, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that all the collective hard work and dedication to refurbish the Wesham Rehabilitation Centre has been recognised.

“All the teams involved worked tirelessly to create an environment that would help support our service users on their recovery, so for this to be recognised means a lot to all involved.”

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The Wesham centre is one of several refurbishment projects that FWP has worked on for the trust, which provides a range of mental health services for communities in Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Its specialist provision includes inpatient child and adolescent mental health services, perinatal mental health and forensic services, including low and medium secure care.

The trust also provides a range of physical health and well-being services.

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FWP’s specialist mental health team redesigned the ‘Skylark’ unit in Preston.

This rehabilitation unit is now helping service users recovering from mental health conditions regain the skills associated with day-to-day living.

FWP appointed a team of experienced consultants to help deliver the Wesham unit, including Cheadle Hulme-based TACE, which provided mechanical and electrical design support.

TRP Consulting, based in Manchester and Preston, provided civil engineering and structural design, and Manchester-headquartered Urban Green has delivered the ecology and landscape designs.

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