New £350m Moorfields Eye Hospital in King’s Cross set for approval
Plans for a new £350m home for Moorfields Eye Hospital in King’s Cross are set for approval next week, in a move which would pave the way for the sale of its 122-year-old Shoreditch HQ.
Camden Council officials have recommended plans to build a new two-acre eye care and research centre on the site of the current St Pancras Hospital, NW1. The centre will house the Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, both of which are currently based at the historic Shoreditch site.
Plans for a new £350m home for Moorfields Eye Hospital in King’s Cross are set for approval next week, in a move which would pave the way for the sale of its 122-year-old Shoreditch HQ.
Camden Council officials have recommended plans to build a new two-acre eye care and research centre on the site of the current St Pancras Hospital, NW1. The centre will house the Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, both of which are currently based at the historic Shoreditch site.
Proposals involve knocking down seven buildings at the King’s Cross site and replacing them with a part seven-storey and part 10-storey building, containing more than 500,000 sq ft of space.
The new building will provide an eye care accident and emergency department, outpatient facilities, operating theatres, research areas, education space, café, retail areas and a roof garden.
If all goes to plan, it is expected to open in 2026. Patients would continue to be treated at City Road until then. Existing services at St Pancras, run by Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust, will relocate.
The development, named Oriel, has been designed by engineer Aecom and Architect Penoyre & Prasad, which is now owned by Perkins and Will. JLL is acting as planning consultant.
The proposals were submitted last November by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, with a decision due on Wednesday (30th June) evening.
Milestone for City Road sale
Should Camden Council give proposals the green light next week, it would mark an important milestone in the hotly contested sales process of the current Moorfields Eye Hospital on City Road.
EG understands that roughly a dozen potential buyers are pursuing the redevelopment of the historic 2.5-acre island site near Old Street, in a sale which insiders believe would top £200m for the hospital and its grounds.
The process is being run by CBRE. Any deal would be subject to planning approval from Islington Council, and the proceeds would help fund the development of Moorfields’ new centre in King’s Cross.
The NHS trust has been considering a relocation for a number of years, with proposals first mooted in 2013. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, it is the oldest and largest centre for eye treatment in Europe.
[caption id="attachment_1096575" align="aligncenter" width="847"] Moorfields Eye Hospital, City Road. Image © Jeff Blackler/Shutterstock[/caption]
In its report to the planning committee regarding the St Pancras scheme, Camden Council officials wrote that Moorfields’ current buildings at City Road are “no longer fit for purpose”.
“This is affecting the quality of care as well as hampering the progression of new research and teaching to further understanding and treatment to tackle diseases of the eye,” it added.
The new King’s Cross centre will also contain a dedicated exhibition space on the ground floor. This will be used to “help preserve the heritage of our hospital and the important part the City Road site has played in our history,” according to documents relating to a Moorfields Eye Hospital foundation trust board meeting held in February.
To send feedback, e-mail alex.daniel@eg.co.uk or tweet @alexmdaniel or @EGPropertyNews
Images courtesy of PR
