Plans to expand Portsmouth hospital entrance approved

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust has been given permission to expand part of the Queen Alexandra Hospital

Plans to expand a hospital have been approved.

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has been allowed to start work to expand the two-storey north entrance at Queen Alexandra Hospital in the city.

The extension of the area off Nightingale Road will host a ground-floor coffee shop, a new reception area and charity office space alongside a first-floor clinical space.

The plans have been approved by Portsmouth City Council.

The authority granted the NHS trust "a certificate of lawful development".

This allowed permission to be received without the need for a more lengthy planning application process to be started, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Plans for the £58m expansion of the hospital's emergency department were unveiled in February this year.