Leytonstone News

Government hands over chunk of funding for Whipps Cross rebuild

The government will provide up to £28million for a new car park and road works, reports Victoria Munro

The Secretary of State for Health made the announcement after visiting the hospital (credit: Steve Barclay)
The Secretary of State for Health made the announcement after visiting the hospital

The government agreed today to hand over a small chunk of the funding needed to rebuild Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, announced he had approved “up to £28million” for “a new multi-storey car park” and road works “to unlock access to the site”.

In March 2019, the total cost of rebuilding the hospital was estimated to be £500m. Prime Minister Boris Johnson committed £3.7billion to fund 40 hospitals by 2030 but the exact amount Whipps will receive is still unknown.

Late last year, Whipps bosses said the “extremely frustrating” delay deciding their budget was stopping the project moving ahead and, in June, the lack of funding meant work ground to a halt.

Secretary of State for Health Steve Barclay visited the hospital with Sir IDS

Responding to the news, a spokesperson for Whipps said it was “another exciting step closer” to completing the hospital.

The announcement came after MP Barclay’s recent visit to Whipps Cross with Conservative Chingford MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

Work will now be able to start on building a 500-space, six-storey car park to replace parking currently dotted around the site.

Last May, a nurse living in Peterborough Road told the Echo she was extremely concerned by plans for the new carpark, saying it would amount to “dumping pollution on people already living here”.

The NHS intends to reduce the total number of parking spaces from 1,211 to 887, building both the 500-space car park and another smaller car park once the hospital is complete.


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