A new kind of care for Catterick

Engineering a secure, resilient and sustainable defence and healthcare centre

Since 2015, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and National Health Service (NHS) have been working together to improve the quality of healthcare services available to Catterick Garrison and the broader North Yorkshire area. The Catterick Integrated Care Centre (CICC) forms part of this vision, with an aim to advance health outcomes for military personnel, their families and the wider local population.

This first-of-a-kind centre will reimagine how military and civilian healthcare work together, supporting the UK Government’s Strategic Defence Review and 10 Year Plan for England with joined-up services that will make Britain safer and improve health access, outcomes and experience. As part of this, it will house a range of transformative facilities under one roof, which includes primary care, rehabilitation, mental health support and specialist treatments.

With significant experience in delivering healthcare and defence projects, WSP was appointed by Tilbury Douglas via the NHS ProCure22 framework. Our experts are providing structural, civil, geotechnical and ground, environmental, transport planning and heritage expertise to help turn this vision into a resilient, secure and sustainable reality.

The Catterick Integrated Care Centre marks a transformative step in delivering accessible, integrated healthcare for military personnel and the wider North Yorkshire community. WSP’s multidisciplinary team has been a key part of bringing this design to life, using their expertise to engineer a facility that's secure, sustainable and people centric.

Putting people at the heart of design

The new centre has been designed with people in mind, supporting the wellbeing of both patients and staff. Green spaces and flexible clinical areas will create a calm, welcoming environment.

Outside, a Community Sensory Garden will offer soft planting, colourful features and winding paths. Crescent-shaped benches will encourage people to connect, while natural log seating will provide quiet spots for reflection.

Inside, the building will bring together medical services for both military and civilian communities. Clinical areas will be flexible and arranged around a central atrium, making the most of natural light and helping people find their way easily. The layout supports the clients’ multidisciplinary approach, enhancing cross-departmental collaboration and reducing the distance patients need to travel.

Engineered to protect and perform

One of the main challenges was ensuring the structural and facade design was compliant with stringent MOD-specific design features under the Joint Services Publication (JSP) 440. To achieve this, our team explored multiple options and landed on a steel frame with precast concrete floors – a solution that enhances the building’s structure and sustainability credentials, while meeting strict security regulations.

By collaborating with the architect early on, our experts also helped streamline the building layout and reduced the need for complex transfer structures. This will help reduce embodied carbon, while optimising costs for the clients and providing flexibility for the centre to be adapted in the future.

Uncovering opportunities below

Following extensive ground condition studies, we identified a risk of differential movement – where elements like floors, walls and foundations shift at different rates. If not addressed in the design, this can compromise structural integrity and increase maintenance costs.

To overcome this, our geotechnical specialists uncovered an opportunity to use 450mm-wide Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) piles – each driven 23 metres deep across the site. These are a specific type of pile that can go deep into the ground, helping to reinforce and stabilise the weight of buildings – while minimising embodied carbon and optimising costs.

Additionally, our experts conducted further site studies and discovered that suspended ground floor slabs could be almost entirely removed from the design and replaced with a thinner, lower-carbon ground-bearing slabs.

 

Creating a future-proofed facility

The centre’s vision not only encompasses healthcare ambitions but also targets excellence in sustainability, with the site targeting a DREAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

In addition to limiting carbon in the structure, our team worked closely with the project team to install green roofs and solar panels, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to manage any potential flooding and minimise environmental impact. Our heritage experts also conducted detailed heritage assessments to help mitigate any damage to nearby listed buildings.

Want to find out more about our solutions for the defence and security sector? Get in touch with our experts below.

Images are courtesy of BDP and Virtual Planit.

WSP is proud to be involved in the delivery of this landmark healthcare and defence centre. This project exemplifies how innovative engineering can help shape a facility that not only meets stringent security and sustainability standards but also delivers lasting value to both military personnel and the broader community.

Contact us

michelle-brownlie-wsp
Michelle Brownlie
Director, Defence
Australia
sam-warren-wsp
Sam Warren
National Defence Sustainability Lead - Ecological Sustainable Development (ESD) and Whole of Life (WOL)
Australia
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