HEALTH on the High Street

Can we create new town centres where the high street, health, 󹀼 tness and social care coexist in the form of Health Hubs? WellNation spoke to architect LK2’s Andy Newman about why a blended mindset is essential to relocate health to the highstreet

Lord Darzi’s report (September 2024) casts little doubt on the state of our NHS, a service needing reform, realignment, and re-engagement. That need for reform was addressed by the government this summer, when it published it’s 10-year plan for the health service – announcing that prevention would be at the heart of the plans. Separately, Sport England has renewed its plans for a place-based ecosystem for physical activity, while ukactive has made its mission to see physical activity – and its members – embedded into health strategies. There is clear momentum building for a reimagined NHS with societal wellbeing and sustainability at its heart. Having worked in sports, leisure and commercial retail for 30 years, architects LK2 has been perfectly placed to witness the mindset shift and the merger of sports leisure, health, and wellbeing. Now, it is doing its part to help lead the charge as retail and commercial areas begin to morph. Through an inclusive approach, which takes into account the mutual benefits for developers, retail owners/ operators and health providers, LK2 wants to join the dots and uncover opportunities and collaborations that will create an entirely new concept – Health on the High Street. WellNation spoke to LK2 Director, Andy Newman, about the concept and the benefits of the Health Hubs – comprehensive health and wellness centres that bring together a range of health services that are both co-dependant and independent in one location.

Can we create a sustainable world where the high street, health, and social care coexist?

In short, we absolutely can, and we should. The decline of high street units provides an excellent infrastructure for highly accessible health care provision in the heart of our community. An infrastructure with long leases and strong covenants provides a sustainable proposition, operationally and environmentally. “In this new vision, planned and elective care will be undertaken away from hospital sites, reducing waiting list pressure. This will allow for earlier diagnostics, including X-rays, pharmacy, and out-of-hours GP surgeries. It will also, importantly, bring accessible health back to the community. Yet, at its urban heart, will be an infrastructure that can cope with a sector-wide increase in virtual and digital services. “By repositioning the elective care services, we can relieve the pressure on hospital sites, enabling them to prioritise primary care and freeing up valuable space for secondary care. This can also break the stigma of hospital visits for younger visitors, providing a less clinical and local experience.

Where does the NHS sit in the plans? For me, health benefits on the high street are two-fold. The NHS can be the catalyst of regeneration for the High Street and the co-location of community services addresses the public health emergency and allows for a model where practitioners across the health and social care sphere can work at scale to deliver a prevention agenda.

Health on the High Street places the emphasis not on treatment, but on supporting the wider determinants of public health.

What we are working towards is a care collective for health care. However, the ‘Health hub’ concept is not new.

In our 30 years of operation, LK2 has worked with leading retail/commercial owners, sport and leisure operators, advisors, and developers to find the solutions others can’t. Developing a vast portfolio of sector experience and specialisms including sport and leisure, education, health and wellness, town centre regeneration and repurposing retail premises.

LK2 are experienced in delivering multi-functional environments, including co-location of commercially driven and complimentary ancillary facilities. Our creative yet commercially minded team has helped clients unlock hidden opportunities, optimise their investment, and deliver successful developments, often integrating health and wellbeing within and adjacent to existing leisure offerings.

Are there any examples of “Health on the High Street” projects? We have delivered feasibility studies for a multi-disciplinary health care hub for a private health provider in a city centre location. This high street care collective will include primary and secondary care along with a residential care unit. We have also delivered feasibility studies for a care collective within a university campus, a model that follows Sport England’s eco-system of place and embeds health into the university’s physical activity strategy.

Other projects include achieving planning approval for an outpatient, surgical centre, including residential/ recovery in an Enterprise Park, and a further administrative office for the diagnosis and referrals of mental health and neurodevelopment disorders, for a private provider to the NHS- this is now in use.”

We have an impressive track record for being a catalyst for change. Our blended mindset and experience in sport, leisure, and town regeneration, coupled with our commercial and urban design expertise and political awareness enables us to provide a highly experienced and collaborative approach.