Latest news

19 February 2013 - Work on St Mary's Hall

Work has started in earnest on St Mary's Hall, one of the decant locations for the 3Ts redevelopment. Some services and staff will be moving to St Mary's later this year to help clear the area needed for construction of the first redevelopment building.

The scaffolding is now in place to protect the old school building whilst the roof is removed. Weatherproofing and other remedial work will be undertaken, after which the roof will be replaced as before.

Outline Business Case approved by Health Authority

Following on from the unanimous approval of our planning application by Brighton & Hove City Council in January, the Outline Business Case has been approved by the Strategic Health Authority for the South of England. Our plans now pass to the Department of Health and we expect to have approval by the end of the year at which point the money for decant will be released.

Press Coverage

30 Jan 2012 - Delivering the £420m facility we deserve - Argus

Click here to view the PDF

28 Jan 2012 - It's a yes - Argus

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27 January 2012 - New hospital plans get council approval

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals’ (BSUH) plans for the £420 million redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH) have been approved by Brighton and Hove City Council today.  The project, which will bring about significant improvements for patients, staff and visitors, was approved in a special meeting of the Council’s 12-member Planning Committee.  The publicly funded redevelopment will replace outdated and poorly designed buildings on the RSCH site with two new healthcare facilities.  It will take eight years to complete and be split into three stages. Organising the project in this way will allow the Hospital to continue operating as a major acute teaching hospital throughout the redevelopment.

Speaking after the decision Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of BSUH said:

“This is an historic day for the NHS and for our patients and staff, and will benefit countless thousands of people for decades to come.  It will bring investment of almost half a billion pounds which will generate jobs, revenue for local businesses and create a teaching hospital befitting the population we serve.  We owe a debt of thanks to many and especially the Editor of The Argus, Michael Beard, and his team, who have supported our application from day one and whose constant reinforcement of this vital opportunity undoubtedly played a major part in making the case for common sense and progress.”

BSUH will now begin preparations for the redevelopment which will include putting up two temporary buildings on site and preparing St Mary’s Hall to become the administration and management hub for the hospital.  Once the reconfiguration of the site is completed main construction will start on Stage 1 in the early summer of 2013.  This building, the larger of the two new facilities, will house the majority of the improved services and be complete in 2017. Stage 2, which will contain the new Sussex Cancer Centre and be topped with accessible roof gardens, will be complete in 2020.

For further information contact Director of Communications Rachel Clinton on 01273 664911

A recording of the Planning Committee session is available on the Council’s website

Press Coverage

27 January 2012 - Give us our hospital - Argus

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23 January 2012 - Blueprint for new hospital - Argus

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October 2011 - Exhibitions

During October the hospital redevelopment team will be running exhibitions at three locations across Brighton and Hove. These exhibitions are open to all and will show the plans for the redevelopment of the RSCH that were formally submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council at the end of September. With professional staff on hand to answer any questions the exhibitions will give the people of Brighton and Hove a chance to see the future of acute and specialised healthcare in their city. 

Dates and venues:

Please click here to download the exhibition flyer

23 September 2011 - Planning Application Submitted

The planning application for the main scheme of the Royal Sussex County Hospital redevelopment, which runs to more than 5000 pages, has been submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council.  The public consultation stage of the process will start in a few weeks time.  Once it has begun links to the Council’s planning application page will be posted here.

Press Coverage

1 April 2011 Seize this opportunity - Argus

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9 December 2010 - A study of the light impact

A study of the light impact on local neighbours from the proposed 3Ts hospital buildings will be undertaken early in the new year. Please read this letter about the study for more details.

November 2010 - Latest designs unveiled

The latest designs for the hospital redevelopment were unveiled on Monday 8 November 2010.  These changes came about as a direct result of consultation with local residents, heritage groups and Brighton and Hove City Council planning officers.

Please click here to view the latest designs.

March 2010 - Latest designs unveiled

Following ongoing consultation with local residents, and conversations with English Heritage and Brighton & Hove City Council's planning department, we have made some alterations to our 3Ts designs.  Images of the two new design options were unveiled by the architects at the latest meeting of our Hospital Liaison Group on Tuesday 16 March 2010.  (This group provides a more formal channel of communication with residents living in a quarter-mile radius of the RSCH).

The revised designs address a number of concerns raised by residents and planners, principally about the height of the development and its compatibility with the neighbouring architecture.  The new designs reduce the height of the redevelopment and add features more in keeping with the Regency architecture of the city and of Kemp Town.  They also feature more green spaces and garden areas on the campus, which will be visible from surrounding streets and residential areas.

December 2009 – Outline Business Case approved

The Outline Business Case for the 3Ts modernisation programme has been unanimously approved by the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority.  This is the second stage of a three-step process.

Back in July 2008, the SHA approved the Strategic Outline Case, essentially the argument for making the capital investment of around £420 million over the next 10 years; now we have cleared the second hurdle by showing how we will design and actually afford the new hospital.

The third and final stage will take up to a year and will involve direct negotiations with the Department of Health and HM Treasury on sourcing the funding.