Selection process

Please click on a question below to see the answer. All questions on this page are related to the selection process. 

Question:  What is the next stage now?

Answer: The choice of Hardwick Manor as our preferred site means that it is just that, a preference. The next step is to engage as many of you as possible and for you to help validate our decision and to determine whether we need to think again. We have to get this critical decision right and we want your help to do that. With this in mind, please use the following link to determine the ways in which you can ensure your voice and opinions are heard.

https://www.wsh.nhs.uk/New-healthcare-facility/New-healthcare-facility.aspx

While we work with you to test our decision, we will also continue to work to understand some of the finer details of the site and the opportunities and challenges that it presents. This understanding will also contribute to this essential review of our decision.  

In parallel the Trust is working with our people, patients and partners on the clinical design of the hospital which will inform our architects on what a new physical building requires and might therefore look like.

Once we have all of this extra input we will formally submit a planning application which will be appraised and publicly consulted upon and which will eventually allow us to formally confirm the site of our new hospital.

Question:  What are the locations of the possible sites?

Answer: The four possible sites currently being evaluated are;

• Hardwick Manor situated adjacent to the current hospital site
• Development of the existing site
• Westley, situated at the top of Newmarket road by the A14
• Rougham Airfield

Each location has its challenges but all are live possibilities at this moment in time.

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust have visited more than 20 sites in total. The shortlisted sites are where the owner has expressed an interest to sell and there are the fewest barriers.

Question:  Why have you chosen Hardwick Manor as your preferred site?

Answer: There were many reasons why Hardwick Manor was assessed as being the best preferred location for the new healthcare facility.

The main benefits to the site were;

• The trust already owns the site meaning that the time it takes to build the new healthcare facility is greatly reduced.
• The combined square footage of Hardwick Manor combined with the current Hardwick Lane site provides the greatest amount of space meaning the healthcare facility will be able to grow to meet the increasing healthcare needs of the local community.
• The parkland setting of Hardwick Manor was considered an important aspect for the both the health and wellbeing environment for both staff and patients when the sites were assessed. All involved felt that patients being able to see out on to parkland rather than housing or an industrial estate could contribute to their recovery whilst it made it a nicer environment for members of staff to work in.
• The Trust is also incredibly fortunate to have partner organisations on our site such as mental health provider Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, the Macmillan information centre and St. Nicholas Hospice. Should the new healthcare facility be able to be based at the site of Hardwick Manor, this will mean that close relationships with co-located services such as these can continue and we are keen to develop further integrated working with our health and care colleagues.

Question. What was the criteria that the site was marked against?

Answer: Elements such as transport links and the impact on the local environment as well as room for potential growth and affordability were just some of the really important factors we took on board.

We are also keen to work with our health and care colleagues across Suffolk and took onboard their future plans too.

Question. Why has Westley been discounted? I thought you were moving there.

Answer: Westley was one of the four options considered by the Trust, it was among the smallest of the available sites and is owned by multiple tenants, making our ability to buy it a significant uncertainty. This fact would add the need to negotiate on space and the construction of a relief road, both of which add uncertainty, risk and potentially cost to the project. Finally, although the site is close to the A14 access by any other route relies on narrow roads and the site is currently poorly served by cycle paths, footpaths and other means of public transport.

Question: There are other sites visible to anyone passing along the A14, some of these are close to major villages and other modern facilities such as schools and sports centres, why haven’t these been chosen or considered?

Answer: When we embarked on this project West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust sat down with the council’s planners and identified more than 20 sites that appeared ideally located for the building of a new healthcare facility. Upon enquiry, some of these sites were simply not for sale. Others had restrictions such as railway bridges that were immovable and meant the sites weren’t suitable. Not all of the sites had reasonable highway and footpath infrastructure in place and others were simply not big enough. In total, the Trust ruled out more than 16 of the 20 original sites and ended up with a short list of 4 that had realistic potential. Of these 4 2 could be directly accessed from the A14, however, they each had other significant risks, cost or other restrictions that made them less attractive than our recommended preference.

Q: Can you provide details of the sites and the evaluation?

A: The sites were rated by technical experts including surveyors, planners and highways professionals. We also gathered the views and feedback from organisations such as Healthwatch Suffolk who represent staff and our patients as well as the hospital union, Trust Executive Group (TEG) and our Trust members whose role it is to represent the views of staff, public and patients.

To provide further detail;

• Castons are West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s lead consultants and they advised on the cost and programme.
• Ryder are the assigned architects and were involved in assessing site scale and massing.
• Adcuris are assisting with healthcare planning, for example how many rooms are needed and which departments need to be situated next to each other.
• MLM our environmental advisors, led on transport, ecology and the environmental impact, services infrastructure of any development including contamination and flood risks for example.
• New Steer are the planning consultants and ensured that any work was in line with planning policy.
• The West Suffolk Council planning team were involved in fact checking and ensuring compliance with policy.
• The Suffolk County Council highways team have been involved due to the nature of the development. The development of a hospital / healthcare facility is different to that of a normal development in terms of traffic being generated throughout the day rather than just at peak times at the beginning and end of the day.
• Local estates teams were also involved. 

In terms of the sites they each had benefits and challenges;

Redevelopment of the current site on Hardwick Lane – the phased redevelopment of the current site would be a lengthy process and would cause significant disruption to patient services and potentially affect patient experience.  The cost of developing the site and the time in which this would take meant the cost of this option was significantly higher and would be completed at a much later date than other sites. The size of the site would also provide constraints in terms of what we would be able to deliver. These factors combined meant that the current site scored lower than the others options evaluated.

Westley - Westley was the smallest of the available sites and is owned by multiple tenants, making our ability to buy it a significant uncertainty. This fact would add the need to negotiate on space and the construction of a relief road, both of which add uncertainty, risk and potentially cost to the project. Finally, although the site is close to the A14, access by any other route relies on narrow roads and the site is currently poorly served by cycle paths, footpaths and other means of public transport.

The site was able to accommodate what may be required to deliver services today but did not allow the Trust to expand with demand in the future.

Rougham Airfield-   The Trust continues to explore this site however there are issues with access, heritage considerations and complexities around ownership.

Hardwick Manor - There were many reasons why Hardwick Manor was assessed as being the preferred location for the new healthcare facility.

The main benefits to the site were;

• The Trust already owns the site meaning that the time it takes to build the new healthcare facility is greatly reduced.
• The combined square footage of Hardwick Manor with the current Hardwick Lane site provides the greatest amount of space meaning the healthcare facility will be able to grow to meet the increasing healthcare needs of the local community.
• The parkland setting of Hardwick Manor was considered an important aspect for the health and wellbeing of both staff and patients when the sites were assessed. All involved felt that patients being able to see out on to parkland rather than housing or an industrial estate could contribute to their recovery, whilst it made it a nicer environment for members of staff to work in.
• The Trust is also incredibly fortunate to have partner organisations on our site such as mental health provider Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, the Macmillan information and support centre and St. Nicholas Hospice. Should the new healthcare facility be able to be based at the site of Hardwick Manor, this will mean that close relationships with co-located services such as these can continue and we are keen to develop further integrated working with our health and care colleagues.