Contractor named for Cambridge specialist hospital

Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) has appointed Laing O’Rourke as its preferred construction partner to join the project for its next phase of design.

The appointment comes as NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care and HM Treasury have approved the new hospital’s Outline Business Case (OBC), which demonstrates to Government the vision and benefits that Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will offer to patients across the region.

The seven-storey 26,300m² facility planned for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is set to be the first hospital delivered in the East of England as part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme.

The specialist cancer research hospital is a partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Cambridge and its Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre (CRUK CC). It will combine NHS clinical space with three new ground-breaking research institutes, focusing on accelerating the early detection of cancer and delivering precision cancer treatment.

John Spicer, Project Director for CCRH, said: “We are partnering with the organisation to develop our construction plans and progress our design for this state-of-the-art facility which staff, patients and their families have all been involved in.

“The state-of-the-art facility will be a specialist cancer hospital for the East of England. It has been designed by architects NBBJ and engineers AECOM, in partnership with patients, carers and staff.”

A full planning application for CCRH was submitted to Cambridge City Council in January and a decision is expected later this year. Construction works for the new hospital are due to start in 2024.