New city hospital moves step closer
_tcm81-120155.jpg "Royal Liverpool Hospital")
Liverpool City Council's planning committee has given the go-ahead for a major redevelopment of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital site.
That means a new £400 million world class hospital could be built on the 10 hectare Prescot Street/West Derby Street site by 2015. It also paves the way for the site to be used for other associated healthcare developments in the future.
The plans will see the creation of a new Royal Liverpool University Hospital focused on emergency and specialist treatments. Broadgreen Hospital - the second site owned by the trust - will focus much more on planned care, outpatient clinics and rehabilitation services.
Once the new hospital is built, the old one will be demolished. This will open up the land along Prescot Street for future new healthcare related developments. These are yet to be determined.
It will also create new green space and lead to the development of a new car park closer to the proposed new hospital, which will be relocated along West Derby Street and nearer to the University of Liverpool.
Tony Bell, chief executive at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, said that this is an important step in the Trust's plans for a major redevelopment of the site in the future. He added:-
"Today's decision brings our vision of transforming the Royal a step closer to reality. Ultimately, a new hospital would provide us with the ability to create an excellent, modern environment for clinical care and deliver a vastly improved patient experience. It will also help to transform this part of the city, contributing to the wider regeneration work that is being undertaken by the city council."
Councillor Warren Bradley, city council leader, said:
"This gives the green light to develop a world-class hospital within the city. We have worked closely with the Trust to take the plans forward to ensure Liverpool people can have the health care they want. And we have involved local residents in extensive consultations about the way forward for the Royal. We have also reached agreement about providing residents parking so that local people are not inconvenienced.
"Today's decision will bring massive benefits to the health and well-being of future generations of Liverpool people."
Councillors considered a detailed report for the ambitious development. It outlined how:
- it will take four years to build the proposed new hospital starting in 2010 and a further three years to subsequently demolish the existing 1970s building;
- technical experts have concluded that the existing hospitals electrics, heating and ventilation systems are likely to start failing in the new few years;
- land cleared by the demolition of the existing hospital could be used in future for other healthcare developments;
- the hospital trust, along with a prospective developer, will plan to ensure disruption to existing services and the local community are minimised.
The development will create a new and iconic gateway into the city when combined with the new Hall Lane bypass scheme. It will also add significant value to the city's ambitious plans to create a world class Knowledge Quarter focused on research and development.
Part of the planning agreement for the development will also lead to the creation of a residents-only parking scheme in the Kensington Fields area, which borders the site. The hospital trust will contribute up to £100,000 to make this happen.
Mr Bell added:
"Today's announcement is only one step along the road albeit a very significant and important one. With approval for planning in place, Liverpool PCT and the Trust will be consulting more widely about the detail of the proposed clinical service model later this year."
(Released: 18/03/08)