NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild: Turning policy into practice through holistic partnerships
The announcement of the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild programme has reinforced the government’s commitment to strengthening public services, driving efficiency, and investing in community infrastructure. While the headlines focus on funding allocations and fiscal priorities, the real challenge lies in translating these ambitions into tangible outcomes for people and places.
At Sewell Group, we see this as a pivotal moment to accelerate collaboration between the public and private sectors. The NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild programme sets the framework, but it’s partnerships that will deliver the impact.
WHY HOLISTIC PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS MATTER NOW
The Chancellor’s announcement highlights the need for integrated solutions that go beyond siloed thinking. Whether it’s health, education, or wider community services, estates must be designed and managed to enable better outcomes, not just balance sheets. This requires holistic Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), bringing together expertise, resources, and innovation to create environments that are sustainable, adaptable, and community focused.
As strategic advisor to the public sector, Sewell Advisory’s role is to shape these environments, aligning estate design with service delivery, embedding placemaking principles, and ensuring capital pipelines are structured to unlock investment at the right time. We help partners move from ambition to action by developing robust business cases that secure funding and governance approvals, ensuring projects are viable and future-proof.
OUR LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITY ESTATES
Sewell Group is proud to be involved in community estate development across the country, underpinned by our extensive experience through Local Improvement Finance Trusts (LIFT) and Building Schools for the Future (BSF). Owning and managing multiple LIFT companies gives us unique insight into structuring, financing, and operating estates that serve communities effectively. These estates are more than buildings, they are hubs for integrated services, designed to evolve with changing needs.
Through Sewell Advisory, we take this further by advising on estate strategies that maximise social value, reduce duplication, and create places where people thrive. Our placemaking approach ensures estates are not just functional but become vibrant focal points for community life.
CASE STUDY 1: THE REGINALD CENTRE, LEEDS
The Reginald Centre in Leeds is one of two ‘joint service centres’ in the city, delivered in partnership between Leeds City Council, NHS Leeds, and Community Ventures (Leeds) Ltd, the local LIFT company.
Opened in 2010, The Reginald Centre has become a hub of activity in the Chapeltown area, demonstrating how LIFT enables multiple partners to come together and deliver integrated services that meet diverse community needs.
At Sewell Advisory, we helped our public sector partners turn policy into practice by shaping environments that enable integrated services and community wellbeing. We embedded placemaking principles and developed a robust business case to secure investment and governance approvals. Our holistic approach considered physical, operational, financial, and social dimensions to create a sustainable building.
Key Features:
- Primary and secondary care services: General practice, community paediatrics, child and young person mental health services, weight-loss and wellbeing clinics.
- Community services: A council-run community hub offering library, employment, housing, and benefits support. Activities promote child and adult learning, including a ‘Healthy Holiday Club’ providing nutritious meals and creative activities for children eligible for free school meals.
- Third sector integration: Local charities and voluntary groups operate within the centre, including a community café, mental health support group, carers’ drop-in, chess club, and even a suit swap-shop.
For over 15 years, The Reginald Centre has exemplified how co-location and partnership working can transform service delivery, reduce duplication, and create a vibrant focal point for community life. It supports the three big shifts in healthcare, towards prevention, integration, and community-based care, while also addressing social determinants of health.
CASE STUDY 2: JEAN BISHOP INTERGRATED CARE CENTRE (ICC), HULL
Opened in July 2018, the Jean Bishop ICC was the first of its kind in the UK, providing a groundbreaking model for caring for frail older people. Serving an estimated 12,000 older residents in Hull, the centre brings multi-disciplinary teams together under one roof to assess patients’ needs on the same day.
We transformed ambition into action by designing, constructing and managing a building that serves the local community whilst future-proofing services. We ensured this solution balanced operational, financial, and social impact for long-term success.
Key features:
- Integrated care: Same-day assessments by multi-disciplinary teams, reducing delays and improving outcomes.
- Out-of-hospital services: Blood tests, x-rays, CT scans, and preventative services like falls prevention and fitness classes.
- Impact: Significant reductions in emergency hospital admissions for those aged over 80 and fewer A&E visits for older people in care homes.
This project demonstrates how user-centric design and partnership working can transform care delivery, improve independence, and reduce pressure on acute services.
DELIVERING FOR OUR NEIGHBOURHOODS AND COMMUNITIES
At Sewell Group, we help public sector partners turn policy into practice by:
- Shaping environments that enable integrated service delivery and community wellbeing
- Structuring capital pipelines to ensure projects are funded and delivered efficiently
- Embedding placemaking principles so estates become destinations, not just facilities
- Developing robust business cases that secure investment and governance approvals
- Navigating complex funding and governance models
- Future-proofing estates for demographic and technological change
Our approach is holistic, considering not just the physical estate but the operational, financial, and social dimensions that make it sustainable. The NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild programme has created opportunities but also challenges. Limited resources, rising demand, and the need for innovation mean that doing things the old way won’t work.
We can support you to bring your Neighbourhood Health Service plans to life, through our proven public private partnership experience, innovative finance models that leverage our LIFT experience, and community-first design principles that ensure estates serve real needs.
WE ADVISE | WE PARTNER | WE BUILD | WE MANAGE
LOOKING AHEAD
The Government’s emphasis on capital investment in Neighbourhood Health, alongside commitments to levelling up and community regeneration aligns perfectly with our mission. But these ambitions will only be realised through collaboration. We believe the future lies in integrated estates that serve multiple purposes, reduce costs, and improve outcomes.