BUILDING work is now underway to provide accommodation for more than 140 nurses and other key workers at the new Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

The £3.2 million scheme at the Commonhead site includes 143 bedrooms with shared kitchens and communal facilities.

It also includes eight disabled units, two seminar rooms and 105 parking spaces.

The three-storey cream brick building will be built on a two-acre greenfield site in the grounds of the hospital.

The project also boasts an innovative heating and ventilation system where fresh air is drawn in and filtered across cooker hoods in the kitchens to provide tempered ventilation in the building while keeping heating costs to a minimum.

The accommodation is being built by Unite, a leading specialist provider of key worker and student accommodation services.

Earlier this year, the firm was named West England Business of the Year.

Anthony Pearce, from Unite, said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust to enhance the level of care and service available to those in the region."

The design of the building was developed by Bristol architects Stride Treglown.

Associate Peter Maben said: "We are working in conjunction with the trust to make sure we are meeting their requirements and their brief.

"There will be single bedrooms as well as family rooms available."

The new hospital will replace Princess Margaret Hospital at Okus and is costing £148 million to build although the true cost to the public purse is £321 million.

This is because the hospital trust will be paying back £10.7 million annually for three decades to the developer, plus £4.85 million for services such as catering facilities.

Construction started in March 1999 and is due to be completed at the end of next year.

The accommodation block is due to be finished at the same time as the hospital.

It will complement another scheme in the town to provide affordable accommodation for nurses and other key workers such as teachers and police officers.

The joint Swindon Council and Bromford Housing Group develop-ment at Wellington Street, near Swindon Station, consists of 46 high quality one-bedroom flats.

The building is expected to open next April and it is hoped it will help attract more key workers to the town.