Christie centre plans submitted to council
A‘ SIGNIFICANT’ milestone has been reached in the bid to bring the Christie to Macclesfield - with a full planning application now submitted to Cheshire East Council.
The document sets out the exact proposals for the two-storey £23m cancer care centre, at the Macclesfield Hospital site, giving an insight into what it will offer and how it will operate.
It is hoped that - subject to permission being given - work will begin on site
later this year with the aim of opening up in summer 2021.
According to documents in the planning application the centre will have 57 staff - 31 relocated from other Christie roles and 26 new positions.
It will have an estimated 160 patients a day with 50 on site at one time and operate from 7am to 9pm Monday-Friday.
Included at the centre will be two linear accelerators for the provision of radiotherapy, a diagnostic CT scanner in a dedicated suite, a 16 bay chemotherapy suite and an outpatient clinic with eight examination rooms.
There will also be an information and support service, with counselling and alternative therapies, seminar and research facilities as well as a 70-seat waiting area.
The building - which requires the Millbrook Unit to be demolished - will cover a total area of 3.398sq m.
Dr Andrew Sykes, director of clinical oncology and clinical lead for the Christie at Macclesfield project, said: “Much work has already been done to get us to the point where we have submitted a planning application for the proposed new the Christie at Macclesfield cancer centre. This is a very significant development in the project.
“We now look forward to working with the planners at East Cheshire Council to ensure that the plans submitted comply with local planning policies and address the needs of the local community.
“We cannot say a big enough thank you to everyone in Macclesfield and the surrounding areas, including the Macclesfield Express, who have supported us in our ambition to develop a new cancer centre.
“Our fundraising has got off to a great start but there is still a long way to go before we reach the £23m needed. We can’t do this without the support of the whole community.
“Since we launched this appeal we have heard time and again from patients and their carers about how much they value the care they receive from the Christie but how important it is for them to be able to have this closer to their homes.”
The proposed building will be owned by the Christie, with maintenance and support provided by East Cheshire NHS Trust under a service level agreement.