NHS targets 2028 construction start for £1.3bn Leighton Hospital

A planning application is set to be submitted before the end of the year for the replacement healthcare facility in Crewe, part of the government’s New Hospitals Programme.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provided an update on the Leighton Hospital project during the most recent Cheshire East health and wellbeing board meeting.

In addition to teasing the submission of a planning application and a spring 2028 start date for construction, the NHS gave insight into how the future facility may look when it opens in 2032.

Ryder Architecture is leading the design team for the new hospital, which would be up to 1.1m sq ft with six storeys. The building would sit on land acquired in March 2024 that sits just north of the current hospital complex.

The NHS will also retain two of the current estate’s buildings: the rehabilitation wards and the existing emergency department, which would become a training and education building. There would also be space for a multi-storey car park.

The NHS is also considering creating a cancer centre at the hospital estate, as well as an energy centre. Decisions on both of those aspects of the future Leighton Hospital are due to be made over the next few months.

With ambitions for Leighton Hospital to be digitally driven and employ the latest technology, the NHS team has visited Norway and Canada to establish what best practice looks like.

The NHS’s plans for Leighton go beyond just buildings, with its ambitions for the site including enhanced biodiversity, improved active travel links,

A contractor for the project, which has a £1.3bn budget, will likely be appointed in the first quarter of next year as well.

In addition to Ryder, the project team includes project manager Gleeds, social value strategist Akerlof, cost consultant WT Partnerships, and business case author PwC.

Leighton Hospital is not the only facility in the North West that is part of the New Hospitals Programme. North Manchester General Hospital is also due to be on site before the end of 2028, while Royal Lancaster and Royal Preston have a tentative start date of between 2035 and 2039.