The government’s plan to build or
renovate 40 hospitals over the next eight years is set to boost workloads after
confirmation that the programme will go ahead in November’s budget.
In the Autumn Statement the government allocated £12 billion to the
Department of Health and Social Care capital budget for 2022-23 and Glenigan’s
construction market research can reveal that many of these proposed hospital
projects already have planning permission.
In the 12 months to September 2022, 151 hospital projects across the UK
secured planning consent. The total value of these schemes is nearly £2.5
billion, which is a rise of 37% on the total value of hospital work approved in
the previous year.
The region with the largest amount of approved work is the South West, where
20 hospital schemes valued at more than £700 million have won planning
permission in the last year.
The largest is the £466 million Jersey General Hospital scheme, which has
been given formal consent by the island’s minister of the environment (Project
ID: 16216255). A joint venture between local firm Rok and Spanish giant FCC is
expected to start work in the New Year,
Also in the pipeline in this region is a £126 million redevelopment of
Derriford Hospital in Plymouth in Devon to provide a new emergency department
(Project ID: 21469693). MWD Healthcare – a joint venture between Mace and
Willmott Dixon – is due to start construction in the New Year.
Capital plans
The next biggest region in terms of work in the pipeline is London, where a
£250 million new eye hospital near King’s Cross now has full business case
approval (Project ID: 18203935). Bouygues is the preferred contractor for the
scheme, which is known as Project Oriel and is a joint development between
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the UCL Institute of
Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Charity.
Seven buildings at the site of the existing Moorfields’ Eye Hospital will be
demolished to clear space for the 39,500 sq m hospital. Glenigan’s construction
industry analysis suggests that demolition will start in February and full
construction in May.
Next year will also see the start of design work on a £328 million
redevelopment of Charing Cross Hospital (Project ID: 20397032).
More approvals
Another major hospital project to recently secure planning permission is a
proposed £42 million children’s heart surgery unit at the city’s Royal Victoria
Infirmary in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Project ID: 22270513).
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust must get final business case
sign-off but providing that is secured, contractor Robertson should start
construction work in April 2023.
The finished scheme must reach BREEAM Outstanding rating, which reflects a
government shift towards greener construction on public works such as hospitals.
Glenigan’s economics director Allan Wilén comments: “The proposed 15%
reduction of energy consumption from buildings and industry by 2030 will
provide incentive for builders to design to the highest environmental
standards.
“This will have an impact on project timelines for the construction industry
as firms scramble to stay compliant. But it sets the scene for a renewed focus
on greener, cleaner building materials and a potential opportunity for green
construction and the retrofit community."
With a major pipeline of work now secured, the challenge for contractors and
materials companies will be meeting these new challenging standards.
