Leighton Hospital replacement ramped up

Plans for the £1.3bn redevelopment of the Crewe health facility are expected to be signed off at Cheshire East’s strategic planning board meeting next week.

Part of the government’s New Hospitals Programme, proposals for the replacement of the ageing Leighton Hospital estate were lodged in December last year after the project was expedited due to the presence of RAAC.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trist is the applicant, working with a professional team led by planner WSP and Ryder Architecture and also featuring Greengage, Mott MacDonald, project manager Gleeds, cost consultant WT Partnerships and business case author PwC.

The proposal is centred on a new-build six-storey hospital building and supporting buildings, mostly to be delivered adjacent to the existing estate, to its north – although some more recent buildings will be reused.

Going before the SPB on 9 June is a hybrid planning application, the bulk of which is in outline only at this point. Full permission is sought for the demolition of the existing South Cheshire Building and re-use of this site area for temporary car parking.

Outline permission is sought for the demolition of existing buildings and the creation of a new hospital, including separate buildings for energy & plant, a central sterile services department and an ambulatory cancer care centre.

Also included here are the redevelopment and extension of the existing emergency department, audiology and ENT unit, satellite outpatients and Ward 27/28 buildings to enable continued use; along with the construction of a multi-storey car park; a new access for emergency vehicles off Middlewich Road, and a new access for servicing off Flowers Lane, plus new parking areas within the site, and landscaping.

Officers outline in the report to go before committee that there are currently no firm proposals for the cleared site, and “whilst some form of masterplan to show how the site could work would have been helpful, this will need to be the subject of future applications”.

Officers also said that being introduced to the edge of the built-up area of Crewe, the scheme will be visually prominent, while the constrained nature of the new-build site will necessitate the removal of most of the site’s trees and a number of hedgerows. Some BNG will need to be provided offsite, while a number of conditions are recommended to mitigate harm, protect species and secure replacement habitat.

According to the report, the four main buildings to be retained are found at the edges of the existing estate, and amount to a combined 96,840 sq ft. The project includes 1,2m sq ft of new space as the 1970s complex, 80% of which is RAAC-afflicted, is replaced. The hope is to start on site in 2028.

Approval is recommended. The scheme’s documents can be viewed on Cheshire East’s planning portal, with the reference 25/4703/FUL.