The £139m project includes a replacement of Bury St Edmunds’ ageing leisure centre and new community health facilities for the NHS. It being led by West Suffolk Council on behalf of local public sector partners.
Morgan Sindall Construction was selected following a competitive process under the Pagabo national framework.
Western Way is also part of the wider programme of community hubs across West Suffolk, including Mildenhall Hub and Brandon Leisure Centre, which opened in 2021, and one that is planned for Haverhill as part of its town centre masterplan.
The Bury St Edmunds development will use and recycle an old council depot building on Olding Road.
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Morgan Sindall Construction and its supply chain will now work with the council and its project during a second stage of tendering for the scheme to finalise designs and costs. An upper limit of £139m was in the council’s original business case but there are aspirations to come in beneath that. No contract will be awarded until the second stage of tendering is complete in early 2023, and ratified by councillors.
Cllr Jo Rayner, West Suffolk Council portfolio holder for leisure, culture and community hubs, said: “From the beginning we have designed this scheme to be cost neutral and flexible to meet future needs. To that end we have carried out a rigorous and nationally recognised tendering process to ensure we have a highly professional contractor with an excellent track record who will meet the needs of this vital project. We were pleased to receive a number of high-quality tenders and congratulations to Morgan Sindall Construction who we will now be working with to complete the second stage of the process and ensure it remains viable for taxpayers. Western Way will bring a range of public and private services together into one place to deliver benefits greater than the sum of their parts.”
Morgan Sindall Construction regional managing director Peter Whitmore said it “promises to be a transformative development for Bury St Edmunds and the wider community”.
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