Hill Dickinson and Sanderson Weatherall advise on land purchase for development of new NHS hospital campus near Crewe

Specialist health law firm Hill Dickinson and chartered surveyors Sanderson Weatherall have recently advised Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on a deal to purchase land immediately adjacent to the Leighton Hospital near Crewe in Cheshire. 

The purchase of four parcels of land surrounding Leighton Hospital - one of three acute healthcare sites managed by the trust - marks a significant milestone in its plans for the development of a new Leighton Hospital campus as part of the government’s New Hospitals Programme (NHP). 

The new campus will be developed in line with the government’s standardised ‘Hospital 2.0’ model, providing a world-class health and care campus that aims to address health inequalities and transform health outcomes in the local population. The New Leighton campus is expected to be delivered by 2030.

Rebecca Wakefield, senior associate in Hill Dickinson’s Health Real Estate team, led on the provision of advice to the trust throughout the process, from assessing potential options for acquiring the land and assisting with the full business case to the NHP, to undertaking the conveyancing of the land to the trust. Rebecca was supported by the wider health real estate team, including partner James Atkins and senior associate Rachel Jones. 

Commenting on the deal, Rebecca Wakefield said:

“We are delighted to have supported Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust through negotiation of the land purchase and to have secured this land for them to move forward with their exciting NHP plans. 

“We worked closely with the trust’s internal project team and their surveyor, John Goodchild of Sanderson Weatherall, taking a collaborative approach to advising the trust on the terms of the deal and guiding them to completion of the acquisition.”

John Goodchild, partner at Sanderson Weatherall, added:

“The importance of this land purchase cannot be understated as it has propelled the trust into the vanguard of new hospitals to be delivered under the NHS’s New Hospitals Programme and Hospital 2.0. 

“The new hospital will be complemented by a network of new road and the delivery of more than 1600 new homes in adjacent development plots. This really opens up the prospect to see transformational change in this part of Crewe with the benefits of significant public and private sector investment likely to be felt across Cheshire.”