July 21

Steel signing as frame completed 

Representatives of the CAMHS service, local community, service users, NHS and builders signed their names and added messages of support and hope to the steel frame of the new West Yorkshire CAMHS unit. The steel signing marked completion of the building's structure, another major milestone in the building work. Find out more and see photos of the event here

 Leeds West MP, Rachel Reeves, has also visited the site and signed a steel pillar. You can read more here

June 10, 2020

Steel structure going up

The first crane has arrived on site at Armley and has started to hoist the steel beams of the new regional CAMHS Unit into place.

April 29, 2020

Foundations for West Yorkshire CAMHS Unit started

Foundations for the new £14.5 million West Yorkshire CAMHS (West Yorkshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) unit are underway in Leeds. Site preparations began in January, and a start has now been made on the building itself.

February 27, 2020

Work has started on the new Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Unit and is expected to continue until the building opens in September 2021.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this work. You can keep up to date on our progress on these pages over the coming months. If you have any questions or concerns please email:  estatesandfacilities.lypft@nhs.net  or telephone 0113 85 55000.

December 2019

Leeds City Council has granted planning permission for a new mental health inpatient unit for young people in West Yorkshire. 

The new unit will be built on the St Mary’s Hospital site in Armley, Leeds, providing 22 inpatient beds and much needed improvements and facilities for children and young people across West Yorkshire. This will include a range of spacious therapeutic areas - including a multi-purpose activity room, educational facilities, a family visiting room, courtyards and a green communal space for service users and staff. There will also be a health-based place of safety in the unit, where a young person who is thought to be in urgent need of care will receive a mental health assessment to ensure they get the most appropriate support. 

Architect Gilling Dod has produced a fantastic video which shows how the new unit will look when complete. You’ll be able to see the impressive ‘figure 8’ shape of the building, with communal areas both inside and out, and get a feel for the modern, light and airy design.

Inside the Unit

A view of one of the 22 bedrooms

A view of a shared area in the Unit

The Unit entrance

Outside the Unit 

We're going to be flying a drone over the new CAMHS Unit site at regular intervals so you can see how the building work is coming along.

Please note that the films don't have any commentary, just a music background. 

The steel structure of the new CAMHS Unit is well underway and in the film below you can clearly see the size and shape of the full building.

September 15, 2020

July 31, 2020

June 17, 2020

April 29, 2020

Work on the actual building has started and here's some great footage of activity on the site at Armley in Leeds. 

July 2020

Here's a link to our latest newsletter

Here are some interesting facts and figures about the new CAMHS building:

The building

At its highest point the building is 8.85m high and has a total interior space of 3,156m2.

257 tonnes of steel have been used to create the building's frame. It will be infilled with SFS (structural framing system) 

1017 cubic metres of concerte have been used in the foundations and this will rise to 1200 cubic metres by the time the Unit is finished.

There will be 124 panels on the roof of the unit, generating power for the building.

The design includes 48 parking bays for staff and visitors - three of these will have charging points for electric vehicles.

Trees

We've had to remove 17 trees to make way for the building - but we'll be planting three trees for each one that had to be felled. The species will be:

Acer campestre - Field Maple

Acer platanoides - Emerald Queen

Betula albosinensis - Chinese Red Birch

Betula pendula - Silver Birch

Acer japonicium 'Aconitifolium' - Amur Maple

Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer' - Callery Pear

Quercus robur fastigiata - Common Oak

Tillia cordata Greenspire - Small Leafed Lime

Liriodendron tulipifera - Tulip Tree