Kingsbridge given approval for next phase of expansion
KINGSBRIDGE private hospital in Sligo has received planning permission for phase 2 of a masterplan for the hospital which will see it double in size over the next few years.
The current approval is for the construction of a 2-storey theatre block of 3,714 square metres in size. The develoment will also include an expansion to the existing car park to provide a total of 96 spaces at the hospital, which was formerly known as St Joseph’s hospital, Gardenhill. The new theatre block will be located where the open green space currently exists in front of the hospital and will face the existing building.
In 2019 Rhatigan architects were engaged by Kingsbridge to develop a masterplan, with the four aims of making recomendations in relation to the development of theatres and endosocpy, bed block and MRI and x-ray facilities, which will be implemented across several phases.
The architects say “the overall masterplan presents an opportunity to re-establish the hospital’s connection to the town, one that has been severed since the completion of the Inner Relief Road in 2005”. The proposed alterations to the junction with the main road, that form part of the planning application, are the first steps in this overall strategy.
The next phase, which is currently being planned, will see provision of a new imaging suite (for services such as MRI) adjacent to the Ray MacSharry Road, “linking the hospital to Sligo town both visually and physically, and further strengthen the hospital’s importance to the town”.
As part of that phase it is proposed to remove the eastern boundary and build a new lower wall in its place, opening up the front facade of the imaging suite to the main road and “creating a more appealingly street side view of the hospital”.
Future phases are anticipated, including the expansion of the theatre block.
There will be more parking spaces, including more ambulance spaces. Currently there are 65 parking spaces and an additional 31 are proposed, bringing the total to 96.