£34m eye hospital contract out to tender

A £34m contract to construct a new Sunderland eye hospital has been put out to tender.A contractor is being sought to build a new eye hospital at Riverside Sunderland, after a planning application was submitted for the four-storey building in June.The building was designed by North East architects’ practice Ryder, with Turner & Townsend on board as project manager, and the development is being led by Sunderland City Council, working with South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, who will occupy the building. The new base will replace the Trust’s 75-year-old Eye Infirmary, based in the city’s suburbs. Work on the new building is due to start in spring next year, and the new hospital is expected to be completed in 2024. A decision is expected to be made by Sunderland City Council’s planning committee later this year. The new Eye Hospital will stand alongside The Beam; City Hall, which is nearing completion, and two further commercial properties that are being developed as part of Legal & General’s £100m commitment to Riverside Sunderland.