New CAMHS unit on track for ‘excellent’ sustainability

Unit works towards international BREEAM certification.

The new West Yorkshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health unit, currently under construction in Armley, Leeds, is on track for an ‘excellent’ rating in sustainability.

The two NHS Trusts developing the unit (Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust) along with construction partner Interserve, are together working towards an internationally recognised BREEAM certification.

BREEAM is a scheme that provides independent third party certification of the assessment of the sustainability performance of individual building, communities and infrastructure projects

BREEAM measures sustainable value in a series of categories, ranging from energy to ecology. Each of these categories addresses the most influential factors, including low impact design and carbon emissions reduction; design durability and resilience; adaption to climate change; and ecological value and biodiversity protection.  You can find out more about these categories, and the benchmarks within them, on the BREEAM website: https://www.breeam.com/discover/how-breeam-certification-works/.

Credits towards the certification are awarded over time, throughout construction, completion and occupation of the building.  The final assessment will be conducted in early 2022 but the unit is expected to achieve an “excellent” rating.

Pat Young, Programme Manager for the new unit said: “I’m delighted that we are on track to receive an excellent rating from BREEAM. The NHS is committed to sustainable development, as set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, and we know that protecting and maintaining the world around us matters to the young people of West Yorkshire who this unit is being built for.”