Land assembly complete for £2bn Royal Preston Hospital replacement
A final acquisition of a 26-acre plot from Lancashire County Council has ensured that Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will be able to move forward with the building of a new healthcare campus.
A replacement Royal Preston Hospital is part of the government’s £37bn New Hospitals Programme. Lined up for the third wave of delivery, construction of the hospital will begin between 2037 and 2039.
The project has an estimated cost of £2bn and would serve the 1.8m people who reside in the trust’s coverage area.
The recently acquired plot makes up more than a third of the 64-acre potential hospital site between Stanifield Lane and Wigan Road in Farrington. CBRE, Roger Hannah, and Capsticks advised the NHS on the deal.
When the hospital completes, it will sit near Maple Grove Developments and Lancashire County Council’s 160-acre Lancashire Central project. Lancashire Central’s masterplan includes provision for 116 homes and 1.6m sq ft of commercial and industrial space.
Completing the land assembly is just one step in building a replacement Royal Preston Hospital. Next, the trust will need to engage in public consultation and secure approval of the location from local and national government.
At this point, the site is just a potential home of the future healthcare facility, not the definitive one. The NHS has said it is open to other site suggestions.
The potential site of the new hospital is close to the M65 and the M6. Credit: Google Earth
Still, the trust’s chief executive, Professor Silas Nicholls, said that the land acquisition was “an important milestone”.
“Securing this land allows us to continue developing plans for a modern facility that could significantly improve care for our communities,” he said.
“This progress has only been possible thanks to the close collaboration with our strategic partner, Lancashire County Council, whose support has been instrumental throughout.”
Lancashire County Council director of growth and property, Simon Lawrence, agreed.
“The county council will remain closely engaged with NHS partners as plans are developed and communities are consulted, recognising that any future decision would be subject to the appropriate national and local approvals.”
While those in Lancashire will have to wait another decade for construction to start on their hospital, the government’s New Hospitals Programme is well underway elsewhere.
The NHS has appointed 10 construction firms to its Hospital 2.0 Alliance programme to build the 11 hospitals that make up the first wave of the programme. These include the £1bn North Manchester General Hospital project and the £1.3bn Leighton Hospital replacement.
