Watch: Time lapse as old North Devon hospital buildings demolished ahead of new Taw View

Construction has officially begun on the new staff accommodation buildings at North Devon District Hospital – and a new name revealed.

Demolition work on the old 1978 buildings was started in November and now the actual building work by contractor BAM Construction can begin.

To mark the occasion, the official name of the new residences has been revealed as Taw View.

Above and below: CGI graphics of how the new Taw View residences at North Devon District Hospital will look. Credit: Royal Devon

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust secured £22.7million from the government’s New Hospital Programme to create modern, on‑site living facilities that will help attract and retain the workforce the hospital relies on.

Taw View will provide 120 en-suite bedrooms, including four fully accessible family apartments and six single fully accessible rooms, with shared kitchen, living and dining spaces alongside various amenity spaces.

It will be used by clinical students, visiting and relocating clinicians, and on-call medical staff critical to the delivery of patient services at NDDH.

They are being built as part of Our Future Hospital (OFH), the trust’s long-term programme to build a better hospital for North Devon and ensure services meet local needs for years to come.

Professor David Sanders, OFH clinical lead, said: “The start of construction work is an important moment to celebrate, but there is still much to do. The OFH team continues to work hard to secure the further funding needed to deliver vital improvements across the hospital site.

“Taw View marks the first phase of the OFH programme. Not only will it deliver much needed short term accommodation for our clinical colleagues, it paves the way for relocating the staff car park and unlocking the site for the major, much needed clinical build that will follow.

“The next phase will deliver new, fit for purpose operating theatres, intensive care unit, expanded diagnostic facilities and enhanced women’s and children's services.”

North Devon MP Ian Roome added: “I visited when demolition began last year and was pleased to see much of the old building carefully recycled.

“I lived in one of those old blocks myself when I worked in the hospital and they were already past their best, so this is an important step forward.

“It’s a practical investment in attracting and keeping the staff our hospital relies on and an important part of the wider plans to improve clinical facilities. 

“My thanks go to the hospital team for making this possible, and to all the hardworking staff who deserve modern, fit-for-purpose accommodation.

“In Parliament, I will continue pressing the government to bring forward the remaining funding needed for the next stages of the project.”