On 18 April, Per Mertesacker, current manager of the Arsenal Academy (pictured), officially opened 1 Lowther Road, a new NHS Integrated Community Mental Health Centre in Islington.
The opening was attended by representatives from Kier and other key figures from the local community. Kier built the facility for the North London Mental Health Partnership through the Procure Partnerships Framework, as part of the Partnership’s St Pancras Transformation Programme. Works included demolishing the existing facility on site and constructing a new four-storey building with ‘state-of-the-art facilities’ – including interview, counselling, and treatment rooms, agile workspace for staff, a café, and group collaboration zones. Landscaping includes a ‘pocket’ park to support visitor and staff wellbeing.
David Rowsell, managing director, Kier Construction London, said: “We’re delighted to have handed over this vitally important integrated community mental health facility to Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust. We know this building will support staff and the Trust to provide much-needed mental health support for the Islington community. We have experienced first-hand how open and supportive the local community is, engaging with it throughout to keep local people informed, and have also provided a range of job opportunities, and supported a number of local businesses.”
Jinjer Kandola MBE, NLMHP CEO, said: “The Partnership is committed to improving the outcomes for all our service-users and the quality of the care we provide. Through our St Pancras Transformation Programme, we are delivering new leading-edge therapeutic environments for service-users and carers, and improved staff working environments. The cutting-edge design of Lowther Road was developed with input from service-users, carers, our staff, and the local community, and can be adapted as our needs change over time.”
