Romford is leading a new generation of truly mixed-use centres following medical centre opening

Mawney Medical Centre, a significant piece of Romford Market Place’s £50m redevelopment jigsaw will be at the forefront of primary care, says Dr Mohammed Hossain, the partner responsible for the move of the premises from within Romford.

Not just one, but five doctors are in residence at the medical centre, which opened its doors in May.

The medical centre confirms the Market Place in Romford as one of the first of a new generation of truly mixed-use developments in the UK – combining retail, leisure, office, residential and focal community service elements. Mawney Medical Centre has agreed a new, 25-year lease with Market Place developer Beadie Group to take a 705 sq m (7,588sq ft) unit in the development.

The rejuvenated Market Place will encompass some 40,000 square feet of retail and leisure space to provide improved facilities, including the new landmark Clock Tower building; also a totally new look for the indoor Market Hall, plus a Travelodge hotel and over 250 public car parking spaces.

Carillion, Pickenham (Romford) and Telford Homes are working together to rejuvenate the 3.5-acre site, adjacent to the town’s open-air market, to create the exciting mixeduse development.

Nayland Court apartments are located on residential levels one to four, with elevated outlooks across either The Market Place or Duckingstool Court, depending on the apartment chosen.

The Mawney Medical Centre, which is relocating from within Romford, has been in existence since 1894 and has a registered list of 9,000 patients. The new surgery will include nine consulting rooms and two treatment rooms. The surgery will have full disabled access.

The £50m Market Place is being developed by Pickenham (Romford) Limited, a division of The Beadie Group on the northern edge of the town’s famous open air market.

The announcement follows recent lettings to Aldi, Iceland and Subway. Telford Homes is marketing the 115-apartment residential element of the scheme while Travelodge is operating the 80-bed hotel. Financial services group Grove & Dean has just taken the entire office space in the development’s Tollgate House as it brings 120-staff to Romford in consolidation of its three office sites in Hornchurch.

When completed Market Place will see the development of 6,652 sq m (71,612 sq ft) of integral retail and leisure space including the medical centre, and new facility for the Romford Shopping Hall (which is already partially opened and will feature a new Manna Food Hall) and an already operating 251-space car park. There is now just one restaurant unit left within the 1,243 sq m (13,388 sq ft) standalone Tollgate House, which also houses the Romford Town Centre Management offices.

Phase 5, which comprises three further units with a total of approximately 36,000 sq ft available, is due to come on the market this year. The units, which are adjacent to TJ Hughes and have frontage onto the Market Place, may be subdivided.

Dr Mohammed Hossain, the partner responsible for the move of the premises said the new centre will be at the forefront of the way in which modern primary care can be delivered into the heart of the community.

He said: “Market Place is not only in the heart of town, but will have both good public parking and pedestrian access along with excellent bus links. We believe this will allow us to offer a modern and much more effective service to our patients in what will be a purposebuilt facility within Market Place.”

Nigel Lewis, managing director of Pickenham (Romford) said that the Market Place will become a benchmark location.

He said: “We are delighted to welcome the medical centre as part Market Place, Romford. From outset we have been determined to create a truly mixed-use scheme that brings benefit to the community. We believe that Market Place will become a benchmark location this truly-mixed format integration. The decision by the practice to establish its new practice in Market Place is a major endorsement of that approach and marks another key step in our programme to create a heart-of-town development that brings true benefit to its contingent community.”

The development is now in the middle of its phased development. The phasing is designed to create minimal interference to the public, Market Place traders and the traders in the Romford Shopping Hall during the construction process