Public quiz experts on Velindre bid
DOZENS of residents gathered to discuss plans for a new Velindre Cancer Centre which could be built in north Cardiff.
Plans have been unveiled for the new centre, which could be open in five years, and last night residents gathered with officials from Velindre NHS Trust at Whitchurch RFC to talk about the proposals – with some raising their concerns.
The proposed centre would have 1,000 members of staff and is planned for the north of the city on land to the north of Whitchurch Hospital playing fields.
Officials were on hand to discuss plans with residents who had questions about access to the site, why the site was favoured, the environmental impact, parking and traffic issues among other items.
Dr Tom Crosby, consultant clinical oncologist at Velindre, told the meeting the plan was to deliver more treatment, proportionately, away from the centre compared to the current set-up, which would mean more people being treated at home or in their local community.
“These are really hard times with NHS Wales, and the reputation that Velindre has is second to none in Wales. But what we do know is people prefer to be treated closer to home as long as we can assure them they are going to get the same quality of care. It’s [the hospital] becoming increasingly and rapidly too small for current and future use. So unless we change we’ll be unable to meet the future demand of our patients.”
Planned stages of the development are for the business case to be finalised and Welsh Government approval to be sought in 2017, road improvements to begin in 2018 and construction for the new centre to begin in 2020.
A new radiotherapy satellite centre is then set to open in 2021. Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and Nevill Hall hospital in Abergavenny are two options for the radiotherapy satellite centre.
It is planned for the new Velindre Cancer Centre to open in 2022.
Residents heard the cost for a centre is anticipated to be around £200m, with £100m spent on new equipment every seven to 10 years and a new radiotherapy satellite centre expected to cost around £25m.
After Velindre NHS Trust’s initial hopes to submit an outline planning application for the development this month, it has now decided to allow more time for the proposals to be considered.
After a pre-planning application process ended on May 8, a second pre-planning application period will now end on June 30, with the trust hoping to submit an outline planning application to Cardiff council in early July.
Asked why this site is being considered, programme director Carl James said criteria included size, site availability, with the site ideally being owned by public services. Benefits cited include travel time being improved for patients, and being on the M4 corridor.
Residents and parents who send their children to school in the area raised issues of an increase in traffic during the construction period, while others brought up the “precious” green areas of Whitchurch that are set to be affected.
Mr James said: “The site we’re talking about currently has approval for housing. We’re not going into a site that doesn’t have planning.”