Manchester to approve proton beam centre
MANCHESTER City Council is set to approve a £135m proton beam cancer treatment centre next week.
Proton beam therapy has been in the news this week after Brett and Naghmeh King took their son Ashya from Southampton General Hospital without the consent of his doctors in the hope of securing the treatment for him overseas.
The therapy uses a particle beam to destroy cancer cells which is more precise than x-rays.
At present the only such centre in England is at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Merseyside which treats patients with rare forms of eye cancer. However, it only generates low energy proton beams and is not suitable for other types of tumours.
The Manchester centre, planned for The Christie in south Manchester, is one of two being built in the UK as part of a £250m Government project to introduce the latest cancer treatment. The other one will be at University College London Hospital (UCLH). Together it is hoped they will treat around 1,500 patients a year from 2017.
The five-storey building in Oak Road will create 150 jobs and contribute £5.52m a year to Manchester’s economy. But the council has received 19 complaints objecting to the design, the loss of light in neighbouring properties and car parking – the centre will occupy an existing surface car park.
A council report prepared ahead of next Thursday’s meeting states: “The provision of a proton beam therapy (PBT) service for the UK is of vital importance and it is a recognition of The Christie’s standing in the field of cancer care that it, along with the University College London Hospital, has been picked to provide this service.
“The provision of a PBT centre on this site is of national, regional and local significance and it has the full backing of the Department of Health and the NHS. In recently approving The Christie strategic planning framework, which included the provision of a PBT Centre, the City Council has also outlined its support.
“Despite this support, consideration must be given to the impact the proposal would have upon local residents. Following the assessment above, it is considered that the majority of the impact would be experienced during the construction phase which would bring with it high numbers of vehicle movements, particular during the concrete pour process.”
It added: “In conclusion, while the proposal would have some impact, it is considered that this impact has been minimised where possible or can be successfully managed with the imposition of a number of conditions.”
