£70m hospital set for Didsbury Point
DIDSBURY Point in south Manchester has been chosen by healthcare company Circle as the site for its new £70m hospital.
Circle is an employee-owned partnership of clinicians which has commissioned architect Sir Norman Foster to design its new CircleManchester hospital, which will sit on a 5.25 acre site at Didsbury Point fronting the A5103 Princess Parkway.
The building, which can cater for 600 patients, already has planning consent, for 166,480 sq ft of space over three/four storeys.
CircleManchester said the building has been designed to aid recovery, with “healing gardens”, courtyards and use of natural light throughout. The hospital will be the third to be built by Circle (its first opened in Bath last year) and is expected to open in 2013.
Didsbury Point is jointly owned by Countryside Properties and by Liberty Property Trusts.
Mark Chatham, Director at Countryside Properties said: “We are delighted that Circle has chosen Didsbury Point for this impressive new facility. Ironically, the wider site used to be the home of the original Withington NHS Hospital which closed in 2002. A new NHS Hospital has already opened nearby.
“Organisations have been attracted to Didsbury Point due to the scheme’s prominence, first class communications, local amenities in Burton Road and the provision of attractive new buildings built to a very high specification. A new Metrolink station is under construction within 350 metres of the site and will open in Summer 2013 as part of the Metrolink East Didsbury extension.”
Ali Parsa, Circle’s chief executive, said: “Our new hospital will be co-owned and operated by a large number of local clinicians, who have come together with the single aim of setting new standards of excellence in patient care.
“Our award-winning hospital in Bath has already redefined the quality of clinical care and patient experience on offer in the South West region. We will bring the same dedication to serving the people of Manchester.”
Agents Knight Frank and P3 Property Consultants acted for Countryside/Liberty and are retained as agents for the remaining office space at ONE Didsbury Point nearby.
