Preferred contractors announced for the new Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry

A shortlist of two preferred contractors has been drawn up to work with partners on the proposed new Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry.

Pebble Mill site

Pebble Mill site

Outline planning permission on the former BBC Pebble Mill site was granted by Birmingham City Council in November 2011 and since then all organisations (led by Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust, together with partners the University of Birmingham, Birmingham and Solihull LIFT (BaS LIFT), One Creative Environments Ltd and Calthorpe Estates) have been progressing the new facility that would deliver the same range of services currently provided at the Whittall Street site in a modern fit-for-purpose building.

In conjunction with this design and development work, 11 contractors who stated an interest in the scheme were invited to tender for the proposed project, through a two stage process. Following the first stage, incorporating a written submission and an interview, this list has now been shortlisted to two companies – Galliford Try and Skanska.

Both these companies will embark on Stage 2 of the process to work on a collaborative basis with BaS LIFT’s design and development teams, with both companies to enter a final submission in the summer.

The Birmingham Dental Hospital project team held staff, student and public consultations last month and a final planning application (of reserved matters) is expected to be submitted during May 2012.