Plans for a new Hinchingbrooke Hospital have moved forward with an agreement to acquire approximately six hectares of former Cambridgeshire Constabulary land and associated highways land.
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust said the land will provide space for infrastructure required to support the redevelopment, including a new access road, approximately 682 parking spaces, environmental mitigation measures and low-carbon energy infrastructure.
The transaction remains subject to legal completion and final approvals, as well as the transfer of land back to the Police and Crime Commissioner from National Highways following completion of the Views Common scheme.
The Trust expects the transaction to complete within the current financial year.
The land agreement follows a series of enabling works at the Hinchingbrooke site.
Demolition work began in June, with the former Albert House and St Nicholas House staff accommodation blocks among the first buildings to be removed.
The cleared areas are being used to support construction and temporary site arrangements as the redevelopment progresses.
The trust has also been progressing new staff accommodation on the site.
The £500m–£1bn redevelopment was previously at an early design and approval stage, with a new 85-bed-space modular accommodation scheme being delivered by Zed Pods.
Hinchingbrooke Hospital, which opened in 1983, is one of seven NHS hospitals prioritised for replacement because of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Hinchingbrooke Hospital is one of seven NHS hospitals prioritised for replacement because of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), alongside six other affected hospitals identified for full redevelopment.
The replacement forms part of the government's New Hospital Programme, which was reset earlier this year with revised funding and delivery timelines.
The seven prioritised RAAC hospitals, including Hinchingbrooke, are now expected to open in 2032–33 rather than the original 2030 target.
NHP scheme to move forward
Hinchingbrooke is part of the first wave of hospitals being delivered through the programme's £37bn Hospital 2.0 Alliance.
Eleven long-term agreements were signed in July between NHS Trusts and construction partners, formally moving the first wave into delivery.
Kier was named as the construction partner for Hinchingbrooke.
The appointment followed the initial contractor allocations announced in May, when Kier was paired with Hinchingbrooke as part of the first £14bn wave of projects under the Hospital 2.0 Alliance.
The trust confirmed Kier's appointment in July, with the contractor now responsible for the new hospital's construction partnership under the Hospital 2.0 model.
A separate early works package is also being delivered by GRAHAM Construction, including a new seven-theatre block on the existing hospital site.
The current hospital will remain operational while the redevelopment progresses, with ongoing inspection and maintenance measures in place for the RAAC-affected buildings.
