Plans to create a world-class medical facility at Pebble Mill within Edgbaston Medical Quarter have moved one step further, after plans submitted by progressive property developer, Calthorpe Estates, were accepted by Birmingham City Council.
The approved plans outlined a proposal for Building 4 at the former BBC Pebble Mill site, including occupier requirements for a cancer treatment operator and oral theatre suite.
The site will be used for much-needed medical developments, which will deliver life-changing cancer treatments for local, regional and national patients. Pebble Mill is already home to the award-winning Birmingham Dental Hospital & School of Dentistry and a 62-bedroom Bupa care home, with a new Circle Health private hospital scheduled to open early next year.
The medical and healthcare facilities sit alongside a public realm tranquillity garden and board walk, providing a relaxing environment for the benefit of the local community and visitors to the site.
The new medical facility will see the construction of a 10,600 sq m (114,000 sq ft) building over five storeys, which will include four floors for medical use. It will be sustainably developed, and it is anticipated that the property will be rated as ‘Very Good’ in the BREEAM rankings, putting it in the top 25 per cent of new non-domestic buildings in the UK.
Ralph Minott, Development Director for Calthorpe Estates, explains: “This is a significant step for Edgbaston Medical Quarter as we aim to realise our ambitions of introducing more truly world-class facilities to the area.
“For over five years, we have held an ambition to find the right home for a leading operator to support cancer incidence, treatment and survival. With over 360,000 new cases of cancer in the UK each year, we believe Building 4 will offer the flexibility needed to accommodate and realise this ambition.
“The approved plans include three storeys devoted to cancer treatment and will allow the provision of some of the most technologically advanced and complete treatment offerings for cancer patients in Europe, in the greater Birmingham area. This will include state of the art imaging, one of the first MRLinacs in the UK, theranostics and clinical trials.”
Alongside cancer care, an additional floor dedicated to an oral theatre suite will offer support to the dental hospital next door. The addition of the enclosed rooftop plant area will ensure the new building with have both an aesthetically and environmentally positive impact on the surrounding area.
The application follows a recent multi-million pound partnership and investment project, which saw the Environmental Agency, Calthorpe Estates and the River Rea Partnership work together to deliver flood mitigation to the Selly Oak North Catchment. As a result of the Flood Alleviation Scheme, the flood risk of over 170 homes and businesses has been mitigated.
Located off the Bristol Road on Mill Pool Way, the healthcare and medical sciences park is part of Edgbaston’s internationally-renowned healthcare and life sciences cluster, within walking distance of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University of Birmingham, and only a mile from the City Centre. When complete, Pebble Mill will offer over 46,450 sq m (500,000 sq ft) of world-class medical and healthcare facilities, in addition to a new food and beverage space and community accessible sporting amenities.