The job is the first stage of the Re-designing Inpatient Services in East Sussex (RIS:ES) Programme, aimed at providing all mental health inpatient services across East Sussex on a single site.

The 57,393 sq ft facility will replace outdated services currently provided in the Department of Psychiatry at Eastbourne District General Hospital.

There will be three 18-bed wards, all with individual bedrooms and en suite bathrooms, surrounded by attractive and therapeutic landscaped green space.

The new building complex will also provide outpatient services and training facilities for medical and other related professions

Cheryl Parsons, regional director for Kier Construction Southern, said the project has been designed to reduce energy usage and optimise environmental performance.

The building will be fully electric and highly insulated, with energy–efficient systems and solar roof panels.

In addition, the car park has ‘rain gardens’ that collect the surface water run–off,filtering it into a storm water attenuation tank before it is discharged directly into the ordinary watercourse.

RIS:ES Programme Director, Paula Kirkland, said: “This is a major milestone for a programme which has been almost four years in the making. We are now looking forward to working closely with Kier as full construction of the new facilities begins in earnest.”