Deal on £27m Ludlow health site due to be signed
The contract for Ludlow's new £27 million health village will be signed before the end of the year, health bosses have announced.
Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust said all the details for the hospital and two GP surgeries had been agreed with the developer, Amber Investments, and building work was set to begin in December once the contracts are signed. The trust will hold a public meeting in Ludlow next month.
This is aimed at encouraging local people to help develop some of the final details.
The plans for the health village, which will be built at Ludlow Eco Park, were given the go-ahead earlier this year.
Stuart Rees, project director at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, said: "The project to build a new Ludlow Health Facility, including a new hospital and two new GP practices, is still moving ahead, and specifically next month we will be holding a public event in Ludlow encouraging local people to take part in groups to help develop some of the final aspects of the project.
Financial
"Building work is due to begin this year and we still anticipate reaching financial close and starting this work before the end of the year.
"Financial close is when all contracts for the project – including the building contract – will be completed and signed. All the technical and design details needed to sign the building contract are agreed between the trust and the developer."
Amber Investments, company selected by NHS bosses to build the hospital, will be paid about £1.5 million each year for 25 years once the health village opens in 2014.
NHS chiefs said the lease payment agreed with Amber for year one is £1,572,000, which will be reassessed each year in line with inflation. If this rises the yearly lease payment would also increase.
The hospital's League of Friends has started a campaign to recruit another 1,000 members before the hospital is built.
