Plans in for £1.3bn Leighton Hospital
Paving the way for the submission of an outline business case next autumn, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation has applied to Cheshire East Council for permission to build its new 1.4m sq ft campus.
The outline application calls for 1.2m sq ft of new-build space and the repurposing of four retained estate buildings, as well as a 1,000-space multi-storey car park.
A second application, submitted around the same time by the trust, seeks the authority to build a 283-space, surface-level car park off Smithy Lane, alongside a substation and other infrastructure initiatives.
The applications can be found by searching references 25/4703/FUL and 25/4704/FUL on Cheshire East’s planning portal.
Leighton Hospital is part of the government’s New Hospitals Programme and has a budget of £1.3bn. Built in the 1970s, 80% of the complex’s current buildings include reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete planks in their roofs and walls.
The presence of RAAC led to Leighton Hospital being one of the projects expedited under the New Hospitals Programme, with a target construction start date of summer 2028 and an opening date of 2032.
The existing hospital would be demolished following the opening of its replacement. The trust has said it will work up plans for that portion of the site in due course.
Ryder Architecture has designed the new hospital, which will sit to the north of the existing hospital campus. Under initial drawings, the buildings would be six storeys at their tallest. Fira is leading on landscape designs.
The trust is targeting a BREEAM rating of Excellent. It also has ambitions to achieve the NHS Net Zero Building Standard.
During operation, sustainability will be achieved through a variety of measures including the use of smart building technology to automatically adjust heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and security systems in line with occupancy. Robertson Construction began building an electrical substation to power the facility earlier this year.
Designed to embrace digital technology, the new hospital will utilise robotics, electronic health records, digital appointment systems, and AI-driven diagnostics to help treat patients.
In addition to Ryder and Fira, the project team includes Mott MacDonald, PwC, and Greengage. WSP is the scheme’s planner. Gleeds is the project manager, WT Partnership is the cost consultant, and Akerlof is the social value strategist.
Russ Favager, the trust’s board senior responsible officer for Leighton New Hospital Programme, said: “The submission of this application is the culmination of almost two years of hard work and partnership with the national New Hospital Programme, our staff, stakeholders, and local communities.
“I’m grateful for all the feedback received, which has helped produce a plan that will deliver an outstanding building, which will help change the way healthcare is delivered,” he continued.
“If approved, this new hospital will also sit at the heart of the trust’s longer-term ambition to create a health and care neighbourhood for the people of Mid Cheshire and beyond.”
