Garstang 'twice as far' from planned new Royal Preston Hospital as it is now
The NHS has purchased the final plot of land needed to build a new Royal Preston Hospital - on a site almost twice the distance from Garstang as the existing facility.
The preferred location for the replacement hospital - which is not expected to open until the early 2040s - lies in the Farington area of South Ribble.
That would put it nearly 18 miles from Garstang, compared to the just over nine-mile journey from the town to the current Royal Preston in Fulwood.
A new Royal Lancaster Infirmary is also set to be built on a similar timeframe at a site south of the city in Bailrigg, eight miles from Garstang - around a mile closer than it is at present.
However, the Royal Preston would remain the major trauma unit for Lancashire and some other specialist services for the whole county would continue to be based there after the move.
The Garstang area was itself once thought to be in contention as the location for a single, so-called ‘super hospital’ to replace both the Preston and Lancaster sites on a plot equidistant between the two cities.
But the possibility of creating one facility for the whole of central and north Lancashire was abandoned in 2022 when local health leaders decided to bid for government funding to replace both hospitals on sites within a 10-mile radius of their existing bases - a proposal that was accepted the following year.
The NHS has stressed that although it now has full control of the Farington site, final confirmation of the location for the Royal Preston will still be subject to a public consultation - as it will for the Lancaster facility.
Health leaders also say they have an "exit strategy” to dispose of the land if other sites are ultimately chosen.
The first tranche of the Farington plot was purchased in late 2024, at which point construction work was due to begin in 2030, with an opening date expected around the middle of the decade.
However, the Labour government last year pushed the start date back to between 2037 and 2039, claiming that the previous Conservative administration had failed to finance a pledge made in 2020 to build “40 new hospitals”, with Preston and Lancaster being amongst that number.
Building of the new Royal Lancaster is now slated to start between 2035 and 2038.
Natalie Forrest, chief programme officer for the New Hospital Programme in Lancashire, said full acquisition of the Farington plot marked “an important milestone”.
“Securing the full site provides greater confidence in developing proposals for a modern, fit‑for‑purpose hospital that could serve patients and communities for generations to come, subject to public consultation.
“We look forward to supporting [Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Preston] as it moves into the next phase of engagement and planning,” Ms. Forrest said.