Crumbling HRI has ‘concrete cancer’

crumble away.

Issues with asbestos, which the trust has already spent tens of thousands on, are still present, and nearly all the windows need replacing.

Leaking roofs, inadequate power supplies and sub-substandard fire safety systems also add to the estates headache.

If given the go-ahead, a timeline for the project shows construction to extend CRH could start as soon as the spring of 2019 with the whole scheme completed by the spring of 2022.

The FBC also reveals the new PFI deal would not be as bad value for money or as restrictive as the one used to build CRH – said to be costing taxpayers £22m a year in mortgage payments, more than £770m by 2058.

It says rules over contracts to run facilities management have been relaxed and shortened, allowing more competitive deals for areas such as cleaning, laundry and catering.

Meanwhile, the FBC has also revealed that parents would be discouraged from attending the proposed Urgent Care Centre at Acre Mills for injuries or emergencies for children under five-years-old.

Babies, tots and toddlers that do arrive at the Huddersfield site would be assessed, stabilised and then transported to the specialist children’s emergency department at Calderdale Royal.

In a third development, the FBC reveals that midwife led maternity services would be retained in Huddersfield at the Acre Mills site.