London Hospital Could Be Rebuilt in Land Swap Deal

A major hospital in London was headed for closure within a decade before it was set to team up with a major developer to receive a revitalized new hospital as part of a redevelopment scheme.

20 March 2020 | London, United Kingdom

One of London’s biggest hospitals could be rebuilt “for free” under an extraordinary land swap deal with developers.

St Mary’s Hospital, in Paddington, is said to have no more than a decade before some crumbling buildings will have to be closed. A third of the site, which dates from 1845, is more than 100 years old and it costs £20 million (US$23.4 million) a year to maintain.

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Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust hopes to strike a deal with the builders of the Paddington Cube, an £825 million (US$966 million) 14-story “floating” glass office and retail development under construction between the hospital and Paddington station. The project was originally pitched as an 18-story high-rise, but was eventually reduced.

The trust and its charity would allow the Cube developers—the same group which built the Shard—to create a King’s Cross-style redevelopment by demolishing the current hospital site in return for building a free £1 billion (US$1.1 billion) super-hospital designed by Foster + Partners. The new hospital would be primarily housed in a giant tower built next door to the main Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital building at St Mary’s. A £162 million (US$189.7 million) nine-story Triangle outpatients building, at the junction of Praed Street and South Wharf Road, would also be built, and link to the main tower via a footbridge. St Mary’s, a major trauma center, would continue to operate while the new hospital was being built. It could potentially open in about 2027.

The possibility of a deal suggests a huge improvement in relations between the NHS trust and the Cube developers. They had been at loggerheads over concerns about ambulance access to St Mary’s. The two sides have given themselves six months to reach a deal. The tower would be about the same height as the Guy’s hospital tower at London Bridge, which is almost 500 feet (152.4 meters), but the height could spark local objections. The Cube was proposed as a compromise after community opposition to the originally envisaged 72-floor Paddington Pole.

Imperial’s chief executive, Professor Tim Orchard, said: “We’ve had an independent estimate that St Mary’s has only seven to 10 years before a major estates failure requires permanent closure of significant capacity.

“We have to make the most of the once-in-a-generation opportunity to produce a hospital for the future at St Mary’s. The agreement will allow us now to work with our staff, patients and other stakeholders to develop a shared aspiration for the new hospital and to ensure it can be delivered.”

Last month Imperial received £5 million (US$5.8 million) from the Department of Health to draw up plans to improve St Mary’s, Charing Cross, Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea hospitals.

It hopes the rebuilding of St Mary’s without a major draw on NHS funds will mean more cash is left for its other hospitals. Significant improvements at Charing Cross and Hammersmith are expected to begin in 2022.

Imperial believes it needs “at least the same number of inpatient beds” at all three main hospitals.

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