Plans to construct bridge at Peterborough medical centre
A GP surgery in Peterborough has applied for planning permission to construct a link bridge between two of its wings.
If approved by Peterborough City Council, the bridge will link blocks C and G of Thistlemoor Medical Centre at first floor level, allowing for more efficient movement of staff.
The plans, submitted by Dr Modha, state that staff are currently having to go down to the ground floor and back up again, using existing stairs or lifts.
“The link bridge will bypass the ground floor and increase efficiency,” a design and access statement reads.
Planning documents describe the proposed bridge as a “simple structure” supported by a steel frame on four steel columns, covered with zinc cladding to blend with the adjacent roofs.
They state that the bridge would improve the running of the medical centre but have no impact on the number of staff at the surgery.
The design and access statement adds: “The link bridge is located in an existing yard, set nearly 12m back from the highway and below the ridge of the existing roof.
“The cladding material selected will allow the bridge to blend in with existing roofs. Therefore, it is our opinion that the proposed development is suitable for the proposed location.”
It was noted that the proposed bridge design was chosen because of an “irregular wedge” between the existing buildings, and the fact that the supporting structure needed to “avoid as much as feasible existing plant in the courtyard”.
City council planners will make a decision on the application at a later date.