Agenda item

The Health & Social Care Sub-Committee is presented with an update from Croydon Health Service NHS Trust on the proposed health facilities in Coulsdon and New Addington.

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 15 to 18 of the agenda which provided an update on the provision of new health facilities in Coulsdon and New Addington by Croydon Health Service NHS Trust (CHS). This update had been included on the agenda to inform the Sub-Committee of the reasons for the delay in delivering these projects. 

During the introduction to the report by Matthew Kershaw, the Chief Executive of CHS and Place Based Lead for Health, the following points were noted: -

•          The provision of new health facilities on the sites in Coulsdon and New Addington were both long running developments.

•          CHS had recently written to patients’ groups, MPs and other stakeholders to flag the delay in the development of these sites, which had been caused by a request for further rent on the site from the developer.

•          As the higher cost would make the developments financially unviable, CHS was in negotiation with the developer and would provide a further update once it was possible to do so. Confirmation was given that CHS remained committed to the provision of new health facilities on both sites.

•          It had originally been proposed that both sites would be developed in conjunction with the Council through their Brick by Brick development company. As this option was no longer available CHS had chosen to work with a developer.

Following the introduction, the Sub-Committee was given the opportunity to ask questions on the information provided. The first concerned the plans for the sites, with it confirmed that except for consideration being given to parking drop-off provision on the Coulsdon site, the plans were the same as originally proposed.

Regarding the timeframe for the negotiations with the developer, it was confirmed that CHS was looking to resolve the outstanding issues by the end of March 2023 as a longer delay would impact upon the funding provided by NHS England requiring an extension to be negotiated. It was expected that negotiations with the developer should be concluded within six to nine months. There was a commitment from both CHS and the developer to work together on this site, but if the outcome from the negotiation meant it was not viable to proceed, then other options would need to be considered.

It was confirmed that neither the Coulsdon nor New Addington developments were reliant on the other to proceed. The same developer had been appointed for both sites, but they could be developed separately if needed.

Given the delay to the provision of health facilities on the Coulsdon site, it was highlighted that the Purley War Memorial Hospital was the hub for the south of the borough. CHS was looking at improving both the surgical and diagnostic services available from this site.

In response to a question about feedback from the local community on the delays, it was highlighted that the health service had been managing without these facilities and would continue to do so. There had been conversations with patient groups throughout the process and information had been shared at the Healthwatch Croydon AGM. CHS would continue to share information wherever possible.

It was questioned whether the issues experienced on the two sites regarding the development budget was due to Croydon specific issues. It was confirmed that this was not the case as construction costs had increased nationally and the developer was having similar issues on developments outside of the borough.

At the conclusion of this item the Chair thanked Mr Kershaw for attending the meeting to provide the update on the Coulsdon and New Addington developments.

Resolved: That the update on the provision of new health facilities in Coulsdon and New Addington is noted.