The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust has completed the purchase of land north of its existing site as part of preparations for the construction of its new hospital.
The 36.5-acre site will be used as a contractor compound during the build programme, before being repurposed for biodiversity and low-carbon energy projects once the new facility is fully operational.
Building works will be carried out safely while helping to minimise disruption to hospital services.
The acquisition marks another milestone in the Trust’s wider enabling works programme ahead of the main hospital build, which is expected to begin in 2028.
Once the new hospital is operational, the site will be repurposed to support biodiversity improvements and low-carbon energy initiatives as part of the Trust’s sustainability plans.
Construction of the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme and will replace the current RAAC-affected hospital in King’s Lynn.
The existing hospital, built in 1980 using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), currently requires thousands of steel and timber props to maintain structural safety.
Enabling works already underway include the relocation of the hospital’s helipad and development of a new multi-storey car park, which will free up space for the new hospital building on the current main car park site.
QEH has said the new hospital will be a digitally enabled facility designed using the Government’s Hospital 2.0 standardised approach for NHS hospital construction.