Alder Hey Children's Hospital submits Springfield Park plans

The new £250m hospital opened last year

Plans to re-instate parkland surrounding Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital have been submitted by the hospital trust.

It follows a land swap agreement made between the hospital and Liverpool City Council which allowed it to construct a new £250m building on green space.

The agreement was made on condition Springfield Park would be restored once the old site had been demolished.

The new hospital opened last year. Demolition is due to start in March.

The plans - across nine hectares of land - include construction of 400 homes and three new buildings including a research centre, offices for hospital staff and a centre for bereaved families.

Parents' accommodation in Ronald McDonald House would not change.

'Fantastic opportunity'

Alder Hey's director of development David Powell said he hoped the site would have more of a community feel.

He said: "We want to do more than just reinstate the park as it was.

"We have a fantastic opportunity to create something really unique that works for more people across all ages, a safe green space with a café, play space and social space that becomes a hub for the community. "

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust said the cost would be funded by the sale and development of other adjacent land on the old hospital site.

Members of the public are now invited to give their views on the proposal before it is discussed by the council's planning committee next year.

The old Alder Hey Children's Hospital was founded in 1914 and by 2000 was considered no longer fit for purpose.

The hospital cares for more than 270,000 children, young people and their families every year.