Harlow's new hospital ready for patients by late 2024

The Princess Alexandra Hospital is outdated and needs to be replaced, according to its board

A new £400m hospital could accept its first patients by 2024 if consultation, planning and building stages are completed in time.

The board of the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex, wants to build on a greenfield site near the M11.

With 53,000 new homes planned, it said an updated and expanded hospital was required to meet local needs.

Funding would be a mix of public and private finance, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Hospital chief executive Lance McCarthy has set out a timeline that would see an outline business case approved at the end of 2020 with contracts signed in August 2021.

"We are about two years away realistically from having a full business case and assuming it runs smoothly and funding comes through, then there is a three-and-a-half year build," he said.

Up to 650 homes could eventually be built on the current hospital site, he added.

Michael Meredith, director of strategy, said a new building in east Harlow was the best option.

New construction would take three and a half years but expanding and modernising the present site would last five and a half years, he said.

He said he also wanted to avoid contractors being on a site where patients were being treated.

"The longer it takes to build, the longer it takes us to start delivering the clinical and financial benefits of the new hospital," he said.