First steps made in Bury St Edmunds on works for new West Suffolk Hospital on Hardwick Manor site

The first steps have been made to prepare the site of Bury St Edmunds’ new hospital.

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is moving about one hectare of fungi from Hardwick Manor, which will be home to the new multi-million pound hospital.

The work is part of the trust’s ecology compensation strategy.

The fungi is being transferred to a site with identical soil DNA to conserve it.

Plans for a new, larger West Suffolk Hospital were given the go-ahead in November.

It is needed as the current hospital was built in the 1970s and has structural defects associated with the RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) used in its roof and walls.

It is expected the current building would not last far beyond 2030 and government funding was gained to replace it under the New Hospitals Programme – with a commitment to have it built by 2030.

The trust said it is working to finalise the details of its outline business case and is working with West Suffolk Council as the local planning authority to secure full planning permission by the end of 2024.