Land acquisition paves the way for hospital expansion

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has completed the purchase of more than 13 acres of land, allowing it to take the next steps in its strategic development plans.The trust, advised by Avison Young, has signed a deal to buy the parcel of land next to the Great Western Hospital site from housing developers Persimmon Homes and Redrow Thames Valley.The trust has been able to purchase this expansion land following a successful bid for £30m of government funding in 2018. The purchase of this land creates an opportunity for future development on the GWH NHS FT site, to improve services and ensure the Trust can meet the demand created by Swindon and North Wiltshire’s rapid population growth.The purchase of the land has been managed as part of the Trust’s ‘Way Forward Programme’, under which a series of hospital improvement projects are being taken forward. These projects will enable the relocation of non-acute services to the expansion land, which will facilitate urgent and emergency care capacity expansion in the main hospital, and will include the development of an integrated rehabilitation facility.The option to purchase the parcel of land was made available to the trust as part of the developers’ 2011 planning application through Swindon Borough Council. The on-going mixed-use development on the remainder of the site comprises 890 dwellings, under construction by Persimmon Homes and Redrow Homes. Further developments will follow over the coming years and could include a new out-patient and diagnostic facility and a ‘high-tech’ cancer centre which will also sit on the expansion land.