Community Health Partnerships (CHP) is proud to have been shortlisted for three projects at this year’s Partnerships Awards 2026.
The Partnerships Awards is an annual event celebrating excellence in public‑private partnerships (PPPs). They recognise outstanding projects, teams, organisations and individuals across the partnership and infrastructure sector, highlighting innovation, high‑quality delivery, and impactful collaboration.
Best Healthcare Project
The step-down project at Newton Community Hospital and the reconfiguration project at St Peter’s Health Centre in Burnley have both been shortlisted in the ‘Best Healthcare Project’ category at this year’s awards.
The transformation of Newton Community Hospital has been recognised as a standout example of how PPP can deliver improvements for local communities. The £1.75 million redevelopment was shaped through collaboration between CHP, LIFTCo partner Renova, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
The project focused on repurposing underused areas within the building to expand inpatient capacity and improve service provision. As a result, the hospital increased its available beds by 33% and introduced a range of new and enhanced facilities, including a gym, physiotherapy suite and upgraded clinical spaces. These changes have strengthened the hospital’s role in supporting stepdown care and reducing pressure on acute hospitals, in line with wider government aims to provide more care closer to home.
St Peter’s Health Centre in Burnley has also earned its place on the shortlist following a major reconfiguration programme designed to integrate and expand community health and wellbeing services. The £3.2 million investment, funded by CHP and delivered in partnership with the Eric Wright Group and Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), focuses on transforming upperfloor space within the building to bring a wider range of services into a central and accessible location.
The works will increase capacity for musculoskeletal, mental health and general practice services while also improving the functionality of the building for staff and patients. By enabling more care to be delivered in the community, the project supports efforts to reduce pressure on Burnley General Hospital and Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital and strengthens the area’s neighbourhood health offer.
Public Sector Promoter/Procurer of the Year
Alongside the two buildings, CHP has been shortlisted in the ‘Public Sector Promoter/Procurer of the Year’ category for a transformative year in promoting and procuring public–private partnership (PPP) enabled infrastructure improvements across England. In 2025, CHP significantly expanded the scale and impact of the NHS LIFT estate variation programme through the creation of a 10 strong national Developments Team, now a centre of excellence providing expert project management and acting as the informed client for the NHS.
This expansion has enabled record activity levels with more than 30 live projects at any given time, with 21 reaching financial close and 19 achieving practical completion in 2025. Over the same period, the capital programme has more than doubled, rising from approximately £7m in 2023 to £17m in 2025, demonstrating renewed confidence in LIFT as a flexible and high performing PPP model.
CHP’s leadership has enabled projects that directly support national priorities, including neighbourhood health services, community diagnostics, and the shift of care closer to home. Exemplary schemes such as the Washwood Heath Neighbourhood Hub, Mount Gould neurorehabilitation redevelopment and the delivery of community diagnostic centres demonstrate how the LIFT estate is being adapted to meet evolving clinical needs and deliver measurable benefits for patients and staff.
Together, these shortlists reflect the continued success of CHP’s collaborative approach to estate development and optimisation. Each project demonstrates how well designed, community-based infrastructure can help meet local health needs while supporting national priorities around delivering care closer to home.
CHP extends our thanks and congratulations to all partners involved in these achievements, and we look forward to celebrating alongside fellow finalists at this year’s ceremony.
The capital investment behind these projects is already making a real and lasting difference for our partners and the neighbourhoods they support. CHP funding has enabled underused spaces to be transformed into modern, functional environments that expand clinical capacity and improve access to services within the community. These schemes demonstrate how targeted investment throughout the LIFT estate directly supports the Government’s neighbourhood health service ambitions by allowing more care to be delivered closer to home. Working closely with our partners, we have ensured that these buildings now provide the right kind of space for integrated, preventative and community focused care, helping to ease pressures on acute hospitals and strengthening local health outcomes
Get support from CHP
Get in touch with your CHP Regional Director and regional Property and Operations team to find out how they can support clinical services at CHP buildings providing high-quality, modern, core NHS facilities for patients in their local communities.
