New £110m Countess of Chester Hospital building approved

The new building will cost £110m which has been provided by NHS England

Plans for a new building at the Countess of Chester Hospital have been given the go ahead.

The new building will house the women and children's service, as the current site of the service is constructed from a material which has been deemed as at risk of collapse and needs to be removed.

NHS England has provided £110m for the construction of the new building.

But there were some concerns over parking plans for the site.

The current women and children's service is based in a 1970s building constructed out of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, which has been identified as at risk of sudden collapse and needs to be removed by 2030.

The proposals include the construction of a three-storey building and a temporary car park to compensate for the loss of parking during construction.

But there were some concerns ahead of and during the Cheshire West and Chester Council planning meeting where the scheme was signed off.

The local parish council said although it did not object to the development and improvement of local healthcare facilities, "this is not the way to do it".

It raised concerns about parking and impact on the green belt, due to the development of the temporary car park.

Meanwhile, local councillor Jill Houlbrook said that parking had been a "huge and contentious issue for 30 years".

Councillor Peter Rooney, who told the committee he spent 20 years working at the hospital in charge of the car park, proposed the committee accept the plans.

"Physically, there is nowhere else for this building to go and there is no space for a car park," he said.

"It does need to be replaced with a modern building for the generations to come".

The plans were approved, by six votes for to three against.

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