Plans lodged for Rob Burrow MND centre

Corstorphine & Wright has designed the project at Seacroft Hospital, now submitted for approval by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Should the city council approve the plans, a contractor will be appointed to deliver the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease.

The fundraising efforts of Burrow’s former Leeds Rhinos teammate Kevin Sinfield have done much to raise awareness both of Burrow’s plight and MND in general, and the new facility is a huge step forward for the city.

The trust said that the planning application follows extensive stakeholder and engagement sessions to create a building that meets the vision of all those involved, including clinical staff, patients, and the wider MND community, as well as the Burrow family.

The proposed building is arranged in three joined forms, with east and west wings, housing the primary clinical spaces, connected via a central atrium.

This central space has been designed as a community focused area with reading and quiet spaces, as well as activity and dining areas. It will be a place for family members to use and will enable staff to observe patients in a more informal setting.

The first floor is designated as a staff area with a dedicated wellbeing space.

Architect and associate director at Corstorphine & Wright, Toby Ingle, said: “As well as being adaptable for the future, one of the main visions of the new MND centre is to create a space for the MND community to come together to support one another, and this will remain at the heart of what it does.

“Engaging with what the community wants the new centre to be has fundamentally informed how we have designed the new building, from its location on the site and the materials we will build it from, to the furniture that we will specify and the colours and textures we will weave throughout the building and landscape.

“The submission of the planning application marks a positive and exciting step forward in seeing the centre come to fruition.”

The new centre will make the most of the existing landscape features including mature trees, and will provide landscaped gardens and spaces for therapy activities.

BREEAM Excellent status is the aim.

Craige Richardson, director for estates and facilities, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said: “It’s brilliant news that the planning application for the new Motor Neurone Disease centre has been submitted.

“Once we move past this point, the landscape really starts to take shape and it will be a rapid succession of activity over the next few months.”

The current Leeds Hospitals Charity fundraising total has passed the £5.4m mark, with the full target being £6.8m.