12:32pm Thursday 22nd October 2009
By Jeff Bolitho
PLANS for a new £430million superhospital at Southmead have been approved.
Councillors decided unanimously that the redevelopment of the hospital should go ahead at a meeting of Bristol City Council last night.
The development control (north) committee gave the go-ahead to the application by Carillion, which is leading the project as part of a private finance initiative scheme (PFI).
Work is expected to start in February, providing the Department of Health gives final approval and funding is secured.
The new hospital will house the main services from the current Southmead and Frenchay hospitals.
It will include 800 acute beds, a community hospital, a helipad and green area, square and piazza.
Parking spaces will increase from 1,650 to 2,700, including a visitor multi-storey car park and another for staff.
The hospital will continue to run as normal during construction, while Frenchay is being downgraded as part of the scheme.
Concerns had been raised about the proximity of the main hospital building to houses in Dorian Close, as well as the impact of noise from the helipad, but councillors ruled that the importance of the new hospital outweighed those issues.
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