© Cityscape Digital for Eric Parry Architects
Plans to create a £750m mental health and medical research campus in Oxford have been given the go-ahead by Oxford City Council.
In collaboration with the University of Oxford and a local benefactor, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust submitted a planning application last summer to build a brand-new mental health hospital to replace the current 200-year-old Warneford Hospital, which is no longer deemed fit for modern services.
The proposals also include a major new facility for the world-leading medical research taking place at the University of Oxford, with additional space for biotech, pharmaceutical and start-up companies.
The inclusion of the first new University of Oxford college in Headington will also ensure a long-term future for the existing Grade II-listed hospital building, which will be restored and expanded to become a new graduate college for medical education.
The development, called Warneford Park, aims to improve care for patients living in Oxfordshire and boost mental health and brain research both in the UK and across the world, which has for many years lagged behind other areas of health in terms of investment.
Bringing together science and clinical care on one site will see the benefits from mental health research translated directly into clinical practice, with the state-of-the-art facilities attracting top class specialists, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers who will enrich research and innovation. Together they will focus on preventing, diagnosing, and treating mental illness early.
The plans, which were been drawn up by a team led by architecture practice Eric Parry Architects, include:
- a new hospital that will focus on providing modern inpatient facilities, that have an emphasis on patient wellbeing and therapeutic spaces that connect with nature. The hospital will support community mental health services across Oxfordshire and beyond.
- a world-class research facility that will aim to tackle some of the most important issues in brain and mental health, by discovering new forms of treatment and therapies.
- post-graduate college accommodation and restoration of the historic hospital buildings to give them a new lease of life as college facilities.
- a revitalised landscape that will create an exceptional environment for healthcare, medical research and education.
The planning decision marks a significant milestone for the project. Subject to funding and further detailed design work, construction of the hospital and research building could begin as early as 2028.
A reserved matters application and listed building consent will be submitted in respect of the College elements of the development for new buildings on the western part of the site and the conversion of the existing listed hospital (once the new hospital has been completed). This will provide space for on-site living, learning and collaboration.
Heather Smith, Chief Finance Officer for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Responsible Officer for Warneford Park, said:
“We are delighted that our application has been endorsed by the Planning Review Committee. Our proposals will provide very significant benefits for people living in Oxfordshire, with a much-needed new mental health hospital and facilities to help us discover new treatments and therapies.
“We have worked hard to minimise the local impact on traffic, drainage and ecology, and will also deliver considerable investment in local active travel infrastructure and in enhancements to public transport provision that would bring tangible benefits to everyone travelling across the Headington area. This decision enables us to move forward with vital plans to improve mental health facilities and research in Oxford and we will continue to work closely with local stakeholders as we take our programme to its next stage.”