Plans for the £1.3bn redevelopment of Leighton Hospital in Crewe have secured planning approval, marking a significant milestone for one of the first major schemes to progress under the Government’s New Hospital Programme.
The hybrid application, submitted by Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, provides for the replacement of the existing Leighton Hospital with a new 1.2 million sq ft healthcare campus. The majority of the development will be constructed to the north of the current hospital estate, creating a modern facility designed to meet long-term healthcare demands across the region.
The project was accelerated following the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) throughout much of the existing hospital. Around 80% of the estate, originally built during the 1970s, is affected by the material, prompting the need for a comprehensive replacement programme.
The new development is expected to be delivered by the Integrated Health Projects (IHP) joint venture between Sir Robert McAlpine and Vinci. Plans include a six-storey main hospital building alongside a dedicated ambulatory cancer care centre, a central sterile services department, energy centre, associated plant buildings and a multi-storey car park providing approximately 1,000 spaces.
With planning approval now secured, the scheme will move into the next phase of detailed design development and business case approvals before major supply chain packages are procured.
The hospital has been designed in accordance with the NHS’s Hospital 2.0 model, a standardised approach intended to improve efficiency, reduce costs and accelerate delivery across the national hospital building programme.
While most of the existing estate will ultimately be replaced, four buildings on the perimeter of the site will be retained and repurposed. Together they account for approximately 96,840 sq ft of floorspace and include the emergency department, audiology and ENT unit, satellite outpatient facilities and the Ward 27/28 buildings.
The professional team behind the project is led by WSP and Ryder Architecture, supported by Gleeds, WT Partnership, Mott MacDonald, Greengage and PwC.
Alongside the main approval, planners granted full consent for the demolition of the South Cheshire Building and its temporary conversion into a 283-space car park to facilitate enabling works ahead of the main construction phase.
The wider outline consent also covers the demolition of the majority of the existing hospital estate, the construction of new healthcare facilities, a dedicated emergency vehicle access route from Middlewich Road, a servicing entrance from Flowers Lane and extensive landscaping throughout the site.
Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and continue until 2032. Once the new hospital becomes operational, demolition of the remaining sections of the existing estate will commence, with final clearance works anticipated to continue through to 2034.
