Main contractor for new Crewe hospital named

The new Leighton Hospital in Crewe will be built by Integrated Health Projects (IHP), which is a joint venture between VINCI Building and Sir Robert McAlpine.

IHP has over 20 years of experience in the development and delivery of a wide range of award-winning healthcare projects.

These include the Countess of Chester Women & Children’s Hospital, a four storey 180-bed facility, which was the first completed NHS facility in England to be verified as compliant with the NHS Net Zero Building Standard. IHP also built North View, an adult mental health inpatient unit, which has 150 single bedrooms, for Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

It is one of the 10 industry leading construction partners appointed to the national Hospital 2.0 Alliance (H2A) framework. The Alliance brings together NHS England, NHS Trusts, and industry partners through long-term collaborative partnerships to deliver a fundamentally different approach to healthcare infrastructure.

The new Leighton is being delivered under the New Hospital Programme, which represents the greatest single investment in NHS infrastructure in recent decades. It will deliver brand new, state-of-the-art facilities to ensure world-class provision of healthcare for NHS patients and hospital staff across England.

The hospital will be built in accordance with the Hospital 2.0 design. This is a fundamentally different approach to delivering healthcare infrastructure, combining standardised design, digital innovation, clinical leadership, and collaborative delivery to create better hospitals for patients, staff, and communities.

Last month, Cheshire East Council approved the Trust’s hybrid planning application for the six-storey hospital, which will be built on land to the north of the current site.

Building work is expected to start in summer 2028 with the hospital opening planned for 2033.

Ian Moston, the Trust’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “I’m proud to welcome IHP to our team. Together we will deliver what will be the single biggest infrastructure programme in mid Cheshire for decades. Our bold plan will mean better outcomes by creating environments that improve patient care, support staff, strengthen resilience and provide long-term value for communities.

“But this programme will be more than a like-for-like hospital replacement. The development, along with the wider ambition for a health and care neighbourhood, is a £1.4bn investment in mid Cheshire. This makes it a once in a generation opportunity to transform health and care services at a scale never seen before in this region.”

Commenting on behalf of IHP, Neil Martin, Chief Executive Officer, Sir Robert McAlpine, said: “The new Leighton Hospital will transform healthcare for communities across Mid Cheshire, creating a modern, sustainable facility that will serve generations to come. Working alongside our IHP joint venture partner, VINCI Building, we are proud to help deliver a world-class hospital that will improve patient outcomes, support the wellbeing of healthcare professionals, and leave a lasting legacy for local people. We look forward to collaborating with the Hospital 2.0 Alliance, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and regional partners to bring this important vision to life.”