£291m hospital for women and children to be built

The new hospital is expected to cost £291m and be completed by 2028

A new hospital for women and children is set to be built in Cornwall, the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (RCHT) has announced.

The new hospital, which is expected to cost £291m and be completed by 2028, will be built on the Trust's site in Truro.

It will bring together maternity, neonatal, paediatric, and obstetric and gynaecology services in one building and also become the new main entrance for the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

The project is part of the national New Hospital Programme.

Steve Williamson, RCHT chief executive officer, said confirmation of the new hospital from the secretary of state for health was "brilliant news".

"It is testimony to the hard work, passion and commitment to providing outstanding care on the part of everyone involved in the scheme," he said.

The RCHT has unveiled a computer-generated 3D film of how the new hospital, designed by Architects Stride Treglown, could look when built.

The plans will be shown at the Royal Cornwall Show this week and at other community events in the coming months.

Jon Clarke, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, said: "It means so much to our staff, as well as to the whole community, that this new hospital will soon be a reality."

Some early work has started on the programme, with the demolition of six decommissioned houses on Penventinnie Lane to create the construction site compound.