Royal Preston Hospital’s replacement site has been revealed and will be on land close to the city’s motorway network.

Land at the end of the M65 motorway where it comes into Farington and Cuerden has been identified for the replacement hospital.

Sitting as part of the Cuerden site – where previous proposals for an IKEA and retail park hit the buffers – the land runs between Stanifield Lane and Wigan Road to the south of Stoney Lane.

Read more: Opinion: Why we need our new hospital to remain in Preston

The land is currently used as farmland. No date or timescale has been given for when the new super hospital is due to be built.

In March, Lancashire County Council released an update on its Cuerden scheme – which is now due to be an employment and retail park – which included the land now identified as being the new hospital. At the time it was listed as ‘potential future development phases’.

The Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board has identified the site for the ‘high quality, next generation hospital facility’ which is due to be part of the government’s new hospital programme – despite concerns over whether funding will be continued for the building of the new hospitals.

A second new hospital to replacement Royal Lancaster Infirmary has also been confirmed and will be at Bailrigg East, to the north of and close to Lancaster University.

Chief Executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Silas Nicholls, said: “Securing our preferred site is a huge step forward in our bid to create a state-of-the-art new hospital to replace Royal Preston Hospital. This would provide major trauma and specialist services to the population of Lancashire and South Cumbria and acute hospital services to Central Lancashire.

“A new hospital will improve quality, safety and patient experience and have a transformative impact on the services we will be able to provide on-site and in our wider communities, so we can meet the needs of our patients and future generations.

“In addition, it would drive much-needed investment to the region, acting as the catalyst for future jobs, skills, research and further economic development opportunities.”

Chief Executive of NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, Kevin Lavery, said: “A comprehensive review of sites, including plot size, location, motorway access, existing highways infrastructure, public transport, planning and environmental conditions, has been undertaken to assess sites for their suitability.

“Whilst proposals are at an early stage, we understand many people will want more information about how the travel and transport arrangements will work for the new facilities.

“We want to hear about how our proposals for the two new hospitals on new sites would affect you, your family or people you care for. Your views will help to inform the development of any plans going forward.

“While the local NHS has secured the potential new sites, no final decisions have been made. It is important to emphasise that any such decision would be subject to full public consultation at a later date.”

Chief programme officer for the New Hospital Programme, Morag Stuart, said: “This is a significant step towards two brand-new hospitals to replace both Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary to benefit local people and NHS colleagues living and working in Lancashire and South Cumbria. The New Hospital Programme has been pleased to support the land acquisition process for these sites, which are two key milestones in our mission to transform the delivery of healthcare infrastructure and services.”

Royal Preston Hospital’s Sharoe Green site would continue to operate until a new hospital is built.

A consultation event on the new hospital sites is due to take place in early 2025 with a survey also being run for the public to give their views.

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