Construction work is progressing at pace for the new Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), which is being built at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds, with foundations now in place and block and beam flooring in situ. This week, the frame will start arriving on site and over the next few weeks we’ll start to see the shape of the building appear before us.
The building, which is being built using modern methods of construction (more about that later), is expected to be completed by summer 2025, with Leeds Hospitals Charity continuing to fundraise, now just £250,000 short of their £6.8m target!
I&G is delighted to be working alongside The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Leeds Hospitals Charity who have been fundraising to bring Rob’s vision to life.
It may surprise you to know that much of the MND Centre won’t actually be built at Seacroft, as we’re using a method called off-site manufacture (OSM).
OSM involves elements of the building – in our case, the timber frame and wall panels – being designed, manufactured and assembled at a location away from the final site of the building.
The MND Centre’s timber frame and wall panels will be constructed by UK-based Timber Innovations, using Glulam and timber materials. Glulam is a natural alternative to steel and concrete, which is made by layering laminates of timber – sourced from sustainable Scandinavian forests – into panels.
The frame and panels will be manufactured offsite, and then transported to Leeds, where our team of expert constructors will assemble them to create the structure of the building.
OSM has many advantages over traditional building methods. The main advantage is that it’s quick – the panels and frame can be manufactured whilst the on-site team are working on foundations, so you save time. As the components of the building are made in a controlled factory environment – rather than on an exposed building site – the quality is higher, and because there’s less waste, it’s a more sustainable method of construction.
Macy (12), Maya (9) and Jackson (5) Burrow made their handprints in concrete together with their mum, Lindsey Burrow and grandparents, to mark their connection to the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) that will be a part of the legacy of their father and rugby legend, Rob Burrow.
Marking the next milestone in the new centre build at Seacroft Hospital, the Burrow family created the first in a series of concrete paving slabs, which will be used throughout the centre’s landscaping, whilst the concrete foundations were poured on site.
A series of paving slabs with prints from others involved in the creation of the site, including Dr Agam Jung, specialist nurse Claire Lang and fundraisers, will form the Hands of Hope Walk and sit in the gardens, a key part of the new site.
Leeds Hospitals Charity trustees and fundraising team paid a special visit to site last week to see the progress that their hard work has enabled. With only £250,000 left to raise, the charity are keen to give a final push to get them over the line and make Rob’s dream a reality.
Catherine Butt, Community Fundraising Manager at Leeds Hospitals Charity, said:
A brilliant morning was spent visiting the construction site for the new Rob Burrow MND Centre right here in Leeds. Building the centre is just the start, providing a home for many years to come for the latest equipment, research & a welcoming space for patients & their families.
There is less than £250,000 left to raise to get the centre built, so every £ lays another brick, every £ fits another window & every £ provides another patient with the kind of care & support they need from our NHS heroes.”
