Permission has been granted to turn the former BBC Studios in Birmingham into a world-class medical facility.
Birmingham’s Edgbaston Medical Quarter (EMQ) has received the green light to improve the mix and medical facilities at Pebble Mill.
The application, submitted by Calthorpe Estates, has been given outline planning permission.
Under new proposals, Building 4 on the site will be turned into a 9,000sq m healthcare facility, rather than the original 5,000sq m building first approved back in 2014.
It will be positioned between Circle Health’s new private hospital and rehabilitation centre and the Birmingham NHS Dental Hospital.
For over 30 years, Pebble Mill was the home of the BBC’s Pebble Mill Studios. Now the area is being transformed into a 27-acre medical development which will include leading hospitals, healthcare centres, and the latest cutting-edge medical treatment facilities.
Bupa Care Homes’ 62-room care centre and the Birmingham Dental Hospital & School of Dentistry have already opened on the site.
And work has recently started on Circle Health’s new 19,000sq m private hospital and rehabilitation centre, which is due to open next spring.
Once completed, Pebble Mill will offer over 50,000sq m of medical and healthcare facilities, in addition to new food and beverage space and community sporting amenities.
Ralph Minott, director of development for Calthorpe Estates, said: “Pebble Mill’s regeneration has been guided around excellence and the creation of jobs since the launch of the original masterplan in 2003, post the BBC.
“We have received strong interest from potential occupiers for purpose-built, open plan medical facilities, which has accordingly driven our view that our proposals at Building 4 can offer more in this location.”
As well as offering patients the latest healthcare treatment, the site is also a leader for health innovation.
The area boasts a powerful group of healthcare institutions, advanced research and academic hubs and is one of the largest center’s in the UK involved in the ‘100,000 Genomes Project’. It is also a centre of excellence for both trauma and leukaemia.