Taskforce chair appointed to help secure additional funding to accelerate St Mary’s Hospital redevelopment
The multi-agency St Mary’s Hospital Redevelopment Funding Taskforce has appointed Simon Blanchflower CBE as its independent chair. Established in January following further delays to the Government’s New Hospital Programme, the Taskforce is a coalition of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (which runs St Mary’s), Westminster City Council, Imperial College London, Imperial Health Charity and MPs representing Westminster residents.
Mr Blanchflower brings extensive experience of leading major public infrastructure projects, including the rebuilding of London Bridge station as Major Programme Director for the Thameslink Upgrade Programme. He was Chief Executive of East West Railway Company between 2018 and 2022 and currently holds a range of non-executive and consultancy positions, including Deputy Chair of the London Legacy Development Corporation. As a local resident, Simon also has strong connections with the hospital and its communities.
The primary goal of the Taskforce is to enable the construction of a new St Mary’s to begin as soon as planning consent is achieved by identifying and helping to secure funding mechanisms and sources that reduce demand on the New Hospital Programme budget. This involves looking at all options, including commercial partnerships, investment-led approaches and philanthropy. The New Hospital Programme has been able to fund only planning and design work for the St Mary’s scheme so far, with funding for construction not due to be available until 2035 at the earliest.
Professor Tim Orchard, Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “The Taskforce has made a great start in identifying key opportunities for alternative funding approaches, as well as the barriers we will need to overcome. Simon’s appointment is a real boost – he has personally demonstrated how innovative funding solutions and partnerships can unlock public infrastructure projects and deliver wider economic and community benefits. We’re delighted that he is now bringing that knowledge and leadership to support an urgently needed, new St Mary’s and the regeneration of the wider campus.”
Simon Blanchflower, Chair of the St Mary’s Hospital Redevelopment Funding Taskforce, said: “St Mary’s has been at the forefront of healthcare for well over a century. We have a fantastic opportunity to secure that legacy with a new hospital that meets the modern needs of its patients, staff and local communities at the same time as creating a sense of place by opening up and improving the whole campus, catalysing health and life sciences innovation and generating economic growth with the expansion of Paddington Life Sciences.
“But clearly this comes with a significant, upfront price tag when there is already pressure on public finances. We have to think differently. That means exploring a range of funding approaches and working in partnership with government and others to find sensible ways through financial and commercial rules. We also need to take on board lessons from the private finance schemes of the 2000s. I am confident that there is the potential, commitment and goodwill to make this work and I am really looking forward to helping to harness it all in my new role chairing the Taskforce.”
Mr Blanchflower’s appointment coincides with the restarting of detailed planning and design work for the new hospital and the wider campus. This will include a range of opportunities for staff, patients and local communities to get involved. The aim is to submit a planning application in spring 2027.
Notes
- St Mary’s has been part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme and, before that, the ‘40 New Hospitals by 2030’ programme’, from the start. However, a series of delays in funding mean that a new hospital is not now due to be delivered until the early 2040s at the earliest.
- With parts of the St Mary’s estate over 170 years old and increasing building failures despite around £10m a year spent just on essential repairs, it will not be possible to maintain a critical mass of services for another 15 years. As one of London’s four major trauma centres, the consequences for the capital’s wider healthcare system are enormous.
- There is now a detailed case and plan for the redevelopment of St Mary’s which is widely supported, strongly evidenced and well advanced. It involves building a new, 800-bed hospital on the east of the site, at a cost of around £2.2bn, freeing up around six acres of land. This will enable improvements to the whole campus and the expansion of Paddington Life Sciences - the life sciences cluster surrounding the site - with the creation of 12,000-15,000 jobs and up to £15 billion in new economic activity over the next ten years.
- St Mary’s is the most urgently needed of three Imperial College Healthcare schemes in the New Hospital Programme. Schemes for the full refurbishment and partial rebuilds of Charing Cross and Hammersmith hospitals are on hold until New Hospital Programme funding for design and planning is made available. Meanwhile, the Trust has secured additional annual capital funding from a range of sources to increase estates improvements over the next two years.
Membership of the St Mary’s Hospital Redevelopment Taskforce is made up of:
- Independent chair
- Vice chair, chief executive and relevant executive directors of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
- Leader and relevant cabinet members and chief executive and relevant executive directors of Westminster City Council
- MPs representing Westminster wards
- President of Imperial College London
- Chair of Imperial Health Charity.
