Consultation launches for £1.3bn Leighton Hospital replacement

Interested parties have until 12 November to weigh in on the project, which would see the Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust construct a 1.2m sq ft hospital and a 1,000-space multi-storey car park in Crewe.

A replacement Leighton Hospital is part of the government’s New Hospitals Programme. Its delivery was expedited after it was determined that the current facility was predominantly constructed with RAAC that needs to be removed. The scheme currently has a budget of £1.3bn.

The consultation is for two applications: one outline scheme and one detailed.

The outline application focuses on the hospital building itself, which will span six storeys and be of no more than 40 metres in height. Proposals designed by Ryder Architecture also include ancillary buildings for the Central Sterile Services Department and future energy infrastructure.

Moving past the hospital building itself, the outline scheme features a four-storey Ambulatory Cancer Care Centre that would be around 53,800 sq ft and the aforementioned car park.

The detailed application proposes the creation of a 310-space surface-level car park, which would be accessed from Smithy Lane. The car park would be accompanied by a sustainable drainage system.

The new Leighton Hospital is due to be one of the most digitally powered in the NHS system, utilising technology to control its utility systems as well as patient traffic flow. It is also set to be net zero carbon, with the trust looking into incorporating solar and geothermal energy technology.

While many of the current hospital buildings will be demolished as part of the proposals, not all of them will be. Set to be saved and refurbished are the current emergency department, satellite outpatients, wards 27 and 28, and the ENT and audiology unit.

Project manager Gleeds, cost consultant WT Partnership, social value strategist Akerlof, and business case author PwC are also part of the project team, alongside Ryder. The goal is for the planning application for the hospital to be submitted before the end of this year, with enabling works to start before the end of 2026.

Utilising this timeline, construction could start on the hospital in the summer of 2028, with the facility opening in 2032.

Russ Favager, the senior responsible officer for Leighton New Hospital Programme, described the project as “a once in a generation opportunity to change how healthcare is delivered”.

He added: “We have a bold ambition to create a health and care neighbourhood with a new Leighton at its heart. The new hospital is being designed so meet the needs of a growing population, while improving how patients access them, ensuring the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

“This proposed development is not only one of the largest infrastructure projects in the region for decades but is nationally significant as the build is a reference scheme for the Hospital 2.0 design approach,” he continued.

“Hospital 2.0 is the blueprint for all future hospitals across the country by standardising how new hospital schemes can be delivered with greater efficiency and reduced cost. So this is an amazing honour for the trust, and the region.”

Interested in having your say on the new hospital? You can access the consultation at healthierfutures.mcht.nhs.uk. A virtual consultation event will be held on Microsoft Teams from 6pm to 7pm on 29 October.

In-person consultation events will be held as follows:

• Monday 20 October 2025 – 3pm to 7pm at The Coppenhall Club, 103 North St, Crewe CW1 4NJ
• Thursday 6 November 2025 – 3pm to 7pm at Hopes and Beams, Broad Street, Crewe, CW1 3UD
• Saturday 8 November 2025 – 11am to 3pm at Crewe Market Hall, 27 Earle St, Crewe CW1 2BL