Work is set to begin on a brand new £68 million “state of the art” trauma centre to expand the services at Salford Royal Hospital.
Following planning permission for the project – which was granted back in December 2019 – ground will be broken on the new six-storey development today, making Salford Royal a central hub for 90% of major trauma operations across Greater Manchester and a provider of support for people involved in serious incidents, such as car crashes or life-changing falls.
The new centre will be named the James Potter Building in honour of the hospital’s recently retired long-standing chairman.
Once complete, the new centre is expected to treat around 400 patients a year and is set to include a resuscitation area, five emergency theatres, inpatient beds, diagnostic imaging and even a helipad, which means that seriously ill patients will reach the site even quicker for potentially life-saving treatment.
It will also make Salford Royal a hub for high risk emergency general surgery for patients in Bolton and Wigan.
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Speaking on the start of construction Raj Jain – CEO of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Group, which runs Salford Royal – said: “This important facility has been many years in the planning with a number of our local, regional and national partners and it’s great to now be just weeks away from the official start date of construction.
“We are proud to be the major trauma centre for Greater Manchester and this centre and the amazing state of the art facilities and our specialist clinical teams within it will allow us to provide trauma care and services to an additional 400 trauma patients per year and help save more lives.
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“Our partnership with Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust will see us use this facility as the home for a new single-service for high risk emergency general surgery.
“This new team will strive to provide a general surgery service with the best outcomes in the UK”.
BAM / Northern Care AllianceBAM / Northern Care Alliance
He continued: “We are of course currently working through the most challenging of times as we deal with the pressures and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic [but] the start of construction work is extremely welcomed and fills us all with excitement about the fantastic future that we can start to create for major trauma and complex general surgery services.”
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Rob Bailey – Healthcare Construction Manager at the company behind the construction work, BAM – said: “We have worked extensively on the design and programme with the trust to understand fully what their requirements are, and focus completely on what matters to them to provide a high quality building in which their patients are cared for and their staff can provide that care.
“That is how buildings should be delivered, with the outcomes the client wants placed at the centre.”
Health minister Edward Argar added: “I am pleased work is underway on this major development to provide state of the art new facilities and ensure patients can access specialised, life-saving treatment.
“The £68m new hospital at Salford Royal will be one of the 48 hospitals which we’re backing to deliver by 2030 as part of the biggest hospital building programme in a generation and strategic long-term investment in the future of our NHS.”
The new development is predicted to take until Summer 2023 to complete.
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New images released of Piccadilly Gardens as transformation plans take a big step forward
Daisy Jackson
Plans to transform Piccadilly Gardens to make them more ‘colourful, vibrant and safe’ have taken a big step forward today, with new images released.
Manchester City Council has shared the vision to the public ahead of a planning application being submitted this summer.
The plans to finally give Piccadilly Gardens some love were revealed last autumn, but things are now moving at pace with a delivery team appointed to design and build the new public space.
The new images show the vision for more green space, including lawns, trees, planting, seating, and colourful horticultural displays.
The temperamental fountains will also be removed for good, replaced with a new space called The Pavilion which will host family-friendly events.
The low concrete walls and raised planters at the edge of the gardens will be ripped out, improving the setting of the Queen Victoria statue.
There’ll be a new, larger playground for younger children, created in the same high quality style as the new parks at Mayfield Park and Ancoats Green.
A pre-planning consultation has started today and will run until Wednesday 15 July, with plans to submit the final planning application later this summer.
The new-look play area at Piccadilly GardensPlans for the new Piccadilly Gardens from above
The council has said that these new designs reflect feedback from the public and opinions on what we want to see at the new Piccadilly Gardens.
Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “We’re getting on with sorting out Piccadilly Gardens. We all want to see a space which Mancunians can be proud of – a welcoming and attractive environment which people want to spend time in.
“So as well other initiatives which are delivering more police and more CCTV, we’re bringing forward this scheme to transform the public space. That means investment in more flowers, more greenery, a new welcome pavilion, a new and bigger playground and an altogether more inviting Piccadilly Gardens. A bright new chapter is just around the corner.”
Further planned improvements to the area around Piccadilly Gardens in the coming years will include a multi-million pound investment by Transport for Greater Manchester to create a new, modern transport interchange.
Council calls on Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use
Emily Sergeant
Residents across Manchester are being called on to help bring hundreds of empty homes across the region back into use.
Since the beginning of this year, a major review has been underway around the city’s draft strategy for bringing empty homes back into use to help meet demand for affordable homes across the city, while also improving communities by tackling empty homes that can blight an area… but now, Manchester City Council needs your help.
Following a major public consultation, the Council is now acting on feedback to accelerate plans to bring as many long-term empty homes back into active use as possible.
Although the number of long-term empty homes in Manchester is near a historic low, with the Council having managed to reduce the number by more than half since 2013, there is still more work to be done.
“Every void property is a missed opportunity to provide a family a place to live, reduce homelessness, and lessen the burden on temporary accommodation,” the Council said in a statement.
The Council is calling on the Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
So, how can residents help then? What do you need to do if you spot an empty home on a street nearby?
Well, the easiest way to report an empty home is to report the issue online here, or by emailing [email protected]. And then once that’s done, a team of dedicated empty homes officers will take up the case to find out who owns the property and work with the owner on a plan to bring the home back into use.
The vast number of empty homes are privately owned with complex histories, and there are some cases where an owner may have passed away.
While working collaboratively with housing providers, voluntary organisations and public services are also a key element of detecting potentially empty or ‘problematic’ homes to repurpose them.
Officers can also support, where required, if a communication or language poses a barrier to resolving an empty home issue.
Tailored approaches to different communities – where empty homes impact neighbourhoods in different ways – are also being considered, according to the Council.
“To think, if we could bring all empty homes back into use, then we could provide more homes for those on the housing register and take pressure off the whole housing system,” explained Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development.
“The potential of making empty homes a thing of the past is huge for Manchester families looking for a place to call home – and a significant part of tackling the housing crisis.”
The Manc -
22nd February 2021 
