Work set to start on community hospital in new year (From The Oxford Times)
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Work set to start on community hospital in new year
7:00am Thursday 20th September 2012 in News
WORK is finally set to begin on Bicester’s £5m new community hospital in the new year.
Cherwell District councillors unanimously voted in favour of plans by developer Kajima to build a replacement 12-bed hospital on land behind the current hospital, in Kings End.
Once complete the old 12-bed Victorian hospital building will be demolished to make way for 14 two and three- bedroom houses.
Kajima senior development manager Richard Coe said: “I am absolutely delighted to achieve detailed planning permission.
“We now need to sign the contract and start construction in January. Construction of the hospital will take a year, with demolition of the existing hospital and final landscaping to follow.
“We hope the new hospital will be open in the first quarter of 2014.
“House building will progress through 2014.”
Cllr David Hughes, who was on the hospital participation panel, said a huge amount of work had gone into the project.
During the meeting at Cherwell’s Bodicote headquarters last Thursday he said: “It’s the first time we have seen a full planning application.
“This is something we should grab with both hands.”
The new two-storey hospital will include all the current services such as X-ray, therapies and a first aid unit.
Patients’ rooms will be single sex, in a mixture of single and double rooms, all with access to an enclosed therapy garden.
There will be a 47-space car park with 24 staff spaces and 23 patient/visitor spaces.
