Spire £63m Didsbury hospital approved

A 130,000 sq ft private hospital in the 20-acre Siemens Princess Road campus has been signed-off by Manchester City Council's planning committee.

The four-storey Spire hospital will be a replacement facility for the operator's current building in Whalley Range. The development will include outpatient and inpatient facilities, six operating theatres and a conference suite. There will also be 595 car parking spaces.

The hospital is due to be operational by 2017.

The hospital is part of Siemen's redevelopment of the Princess Road campus, which was approved in November 2014. Alongside the Spire scheme, the mixed-use masterplan for the site includes 140,000 sq ft of new-build offices, the refurbishment of the 87,000 sq ft Sir William Siemens House, and 90 homes.

In a report Manchester City Council planning officers recommended the scheme for approval ahead of the committee meeting on 19 February, and said: "The proposed development would provide a modern contemporary designed building at a prominent gateway location for a state of the art medical facility. It is considered that the proposals will form an important first phase of part of a wider development of the Siemens campus as a focus for linked facilities and companies to create a successful business environment."

Cllrs Mandie Shilton-Goodwin, Ian Hyde and Joanne Midgley raised concerns about the loss of trees and the proximity of the hospital to the road in case pollution affecting patients.

Halliday Meecham Architects designed the hospital. Turley advised on the planning application.

Siemens is being advised by JLL.