Plans for 'world-leading' cancer centre at the Christie submitted

Plans to replace the Christie’s fire-ravaged Paterson building have been submitted to Manchester town hall’s planning panel.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust want to create a new ‘world-leading’ cancer research centre at the site on Wilmslow Road after a fire in 2017 destroyed the Paterson building.

Initial plans drew a mixed response from residents who highlighted the scale of the building as their main concern – with one person saying plans for the building looked ‘hideous’.

Architects BDP have slightly tweaked the vision but new images still show a 10 storey building which would include biomedical research labs, consultant and collaboration workspaces, and a cafe.

The building will also have a ground floor education and exhibition centre and a garden area.

Responses to the consultation – which were published as part of the submission to the town hall’s planning portal – show that the majority of people back the Christie’s aims, which include becoming a ‘Top 5’ translational cancer research centre in the world by 2025.

But some residents weren’t sure about the scale of the project.

A campaign group Rethink Paterson has been set up, arguing that the hospital is using the rebuild as a chance to propose something ‘totally inappropriate’.

And in the consultation documents, one person wrote: “this is overbearing and, quite frankly hideous proposal which will adversely affect the local environment and local residents.”

But another wrote: “Initially I did think that the new build may be overwhelming in size but the design does look very attractive – much more so that I thought it would be”.

Developers did look at a ‘longer and lower’ option but argued that it would push the scheme over budget – and mean the loss of the garden space.

The most recent images show that developers have made slight tweaks to the appearance of the building since the consultation period, with developers saying the new vision makes it look more ‘elegant’ and ‘welcoming’.

Documents sent to the town hall say: “The project provides a unique opportunity to deliver a world-leading facility for cancer researchers and clinicians to work side-by-side in one building; understanding, and tackling the diversity and complexity of cancer to drive better outcomes for patients with the very latest discoveries and breakthroughs.”

The new centre would replace the Paterson building, which fell victim to a fire in 2017.

Years of valuable research and equipment were lost in the blaze, and more than 300 scientists and support staff were relocated.

But within days, tens of thousands of pounds were raised for Cancer Research to help rebuild it.