Development locations

The reconfiguration plans require a new, fully integrated, purpose-built hospital building. In order to free up land to facilitate the new building and meet the additional demands the additional staff, patient and visitor numbers on the site, there is also a need to increase parking provisions on the site. 

There are very limited options to accommodate new development, which is restricted to the existing surface car parks and smaller buildings that could feasibly be decommissioned and re-accommodated in existing buildings or the new hospital building without impacting on the operational needs of the hospital.

These development site options are set out on the below plan:

The existing A&E Car Park (Area 2) has been discounted as a future development location due to the operational requirements of this part of the hospital site. Development of this area would mean that the A&E Department would need to close for the duration of the construction period.

The size of the new hospital building and the need to link with existing accommodation means that the only area that is able to accommodate such a large building would be to the south of the site (Area 3). The existing departments located within the building to be decommissioned will be re-accommodated. The only remaining location to accommodate additional car park provision is on the Main Entrance Car Park, located off Dryclough Lane (Area 1). 

As well as enabling the design of a development of scale appropriate to its context, selection of the preferred location for the new hospital building has been guided by a number of key functional requirements including the following:

• Maintenance of uninterrupted pedestrian and ‘blue light’ access to the hospital’s existing accident and emergency department during construction;
• Establishment of links between the new development and the existing main hospital facility at all floor levels in each, in order to:
  • Ensure new and existing clinical departments can work best together;
  • Optimise patient, staff, and visitor circulation around the building;
  • Avoid undue reliance on lifts;
• Improve fire safety and access.
• Provision of a development incorporating floorplates each capable of accommodating, at the appropriate floor level, those facilities required to be co-located on a single floor whilst also offering optimum opportunity for future reconfiguration – a ‘long life, loose fit’ solution.
• Optimise opportunities for the provision of natural light into permanently occupied patient/ staff areas as well as those facilities where natural light is required for reasons of clinical functionality.