New Newcastle and North East partnership for Community Ventures

Estates consultancy Community Ventures has secured a new contract with Newcastle & North Tyneside LIFT Company (NNT LIFTCo) to deliver a management services agreement.

The contract adds to Community Ventures’ portfolio of existing LIFT companies across the North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands and will help enhance the delivery of health services and buildings across the city.

NNT LiftCo will continue to handle the operational side of the business, with Community Ventures providing complementary partnering services and business development. It also means partners in the area are able to work with Community Ventures on individual projects.

Community Ventures bring extensive experience in health estate management and strategy development to help the NHS maximise efficiencies and plan future service delivery, and the team have previously done work in the area to develop primary care estates strategies and to provide space utilisation analysis and reporting.

This new long-term partnership will help NNT LIFTCo develop its service offer to stakeholders across the Tyneside area and will improve partnerships between public and private sector partners to look at wider opportunities.

Initial schemes that Community Ventures will be working on in Newcastle and North Tyneside include business development, engaging with stakeholders, and supporting the Newcastle system in setting up a strategic estates working group.

Community Ventures already provide management services for 9 LIFT companies across the country, from Leicester to Durham, so the team have a proven track record of delivering estates solutions to support health providers deliver the best possible service for their communities.

Emma Bolton, Interim Chief Executive of Community Ventures, said:

“We have an already established team in the North East, including an office base in Stockton-on-Tees, and strong relationships within the health landscape which have come from our staff having significant experience gained whilst working within the NHS, so I’m delighted that this new partnership will allow us to enhance that even further.

“We’ll be able to maximise our opportunities to support the NHS and new Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) as they plan future primary and community care delivery, helping them create sustainable estates plans so they can deliver the best possible health care for the people of Newcastle and North Tyneside.

“We’re looking forward to working with key partners including Community Health Partnerships (CHP), NHS England, local Trusts, the local authorities and integrated care boards to add value to the already fantastic service they deliver.”

Rob Holt, Director of NNT LIFT Co. added:

“We have a big opportunity to do more work around our estates planning, but previously lacked the capacity to do as much as we wanted to. Working alongside Community Ventures is a really exciting step for us, as we look to the future of health and social care delivery within our local communities. We have some fantastic health centres around Newcastle and North Tyneside, and we know there are more opportunities for us to maximise their use as well as working closely with our NHS partners to help plan service delivery for the future within the wider One Public Estate.”