Health bosses submit plans for new hospital

Health bosses have submitted plans to build a new hospital in Cheshire.

The replacement for Leighton Hospital in Crewe will be built on land next to the current site and has been described as the UK's "most digitally-advanced".

It was included in the government's New Hospitals Programme due to much of the old building containing RAAC, an aerated form of concrete with a limited lifespan, leaving it at risk of collapse.

Russ Favager, of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said the submission of the planning application was the culmination of two years of hard work.

"I'm grateful for all the feedback received, which has helped produce a plan that will deliver an outstanding building, which will help change the way healthcare is delivered," he said.

"If approved, this new hospital will also sit at the heart of the trust's longer-term ambition to create a health and care neighbourhood for the people of Mid Cheshire and beyond."

The application lodged with Cheshire East Council includes proposals for:

• A six-storey hospital building with a rooftop plant alongside ancillary buildings to accommodate the central sterile services department and energy infrastructure
• An ambulatory cancer care centre with rooftop equipment
• Vehicular access routes from Middlewich Road and Flowers Lane, separating blue-light and service vehicles from the main hospital access points
• A multi-storey car park with up to 1,000 spaces as well as a surface car park for staff and patients

A separate planning application has also been submitted for another surface-level car park to the south of the current hospital site.

It would include 310 parking spaces and an access route from Smithy Lane, along with landscaping and drainage infrastructure.

A decision on the planning applications would likely be made in spring 2026, the trust said.

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