New Chorley and South Ribble Hospital ward gets the go-ahead - more than two months after it opened

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LTH) had applied for retrospective permission for its Cuerden Ward facility, which came into operation in July.

The “modular”-designed building has been created on land previously occupied by the hospital's maternity ward. That unit was demolished back in 2020 and the area had been used as a temporary car park since.

Cuerden is currently providing additional capacity for diabetes, endocrinology and general medical patients. As the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed earlier this year, it is also ultimately intended to assist with patient flow through the hospital system and provide additional space for those who may be close to being discharged.

The 24-bed, two-storey building partially opened shortly after the closure and dismantling of the temporary Nightingale facility at the Royal Preston which had performed a similar function since it was set up January.

Committee members roundly welcomed the development - and what they felt it demonstrated about the trust’s commitment to the wider Chorley Hospital site. However, several of them took issue with the fact that they were only getting their say on the new ward more than two months after it had welcomed its first patients.

Cllr Adrian Lowe told the meeting that a “strong message” needed to be sent to LTH.

“If my memory serves me right, this is not the first time that they have started construction within…that site and then applied for retrospective permission, which, in effect, draws members’ [hands] behind our backs.

“While we welcome the enhanced facilities…please do not take this authority for granted by starting the construction and then putting a part-retrospective application in,” Cllr Lowe added.

Cabinet member for planning and development Alistair Morwood quipped that the committee was usually presented with illustrations of what a proposed new building might look like before deciding whether or not to approve it, but in this instance it was a case of, ‘Here it is’.

If a retrospective application fails, the organisation or individual behind it can be forced to demolish anything that they have already had built.

However, planning services manager Adele Hayes stressed that the LTH application had been submitted “quite a long time ago” and had been held up by discussions over drainage requirements, as opposed to any concerns about the suitability of the proposal.

“Given that there would be a funding regime and a need to progress through a development programme, a ‘commercial’ decision has been made to progress the development, knowing that, in principle, it was acceptable and they were trying to sort out the drainage.

“So I don't think they’ve gone ahead without due regard; it was an informed decision,” Ms Hayes added.

Meanwhile, committee member Alex Hilton focused on the positives of the partially completed Cuerden facility, construction of which is at an “advanced stage”, the meeting heard.

“[It’s] great to see that Lancashire Teaching Hospitals are continuing to invest into Chorley Hospital. This is going to be a modern healthcare facility that will benefit patients, many of [whom] will be residents of Chorley.

“It will also make it a better place to work and that will help recruitment and retention of staff,” said Cllr Hilton.

In a statement after the meeting, an LTH spokesperson said: “We are grateful to the planning officers at Chorley Council for working closely with us to ensure that the work on the Cuerden Ward was appropriate in principle, enabling us to provide this facility in a timely way for the communities we serve.

“We appreciate that retrospective planning permission is never ideal, and we’d like to thank the planning committee for their understanding and support."

Two objections were lodged to the application, but planning officers recommended that it be approved after concluding that it would not have any more adverse impact on the characteristics of the site than the maternity ward it replaced.

Staff car parking will be provided to the south and east of the new building and the block will connect at its first floor to the main body of the hospital, as its predecessor did.