Clinical Commissioning

Highways hitch delays Weybridge Hospital rebuild

Weybridge Hospital fire July 2017

Weybridge Hospital / Health Centre past and future

More than seven years after Weybridge Hospital burnt down, hopes of the replacement Weybridge Health Centre plans (EBC 2024/3065) receiving consent this month were dashed by a mix up over a secondary pedestrian and cycle entrance.

A proposed new active travel entrance via Portmore Way received strong objections. Planning consent will now be delayed at least until July 2025, the earliest date that Elmbridge Borough Council can consider a slightly revised application.

Why was a Portmore Way entrance proposed?

The NHS Property Services 2024/3065 plans for the Health Centre building and landscaping looked excellent in most respects, but for the unexpected pedestrian and cycle entrance via Portmore Way.

It seems Surrey Highways had insisted the plans should include a Portmore Way entrance, to give easier active travel access for those of us who live in north Weybridge — access previously made easy by Footpath 20 (FP20) from Portmore Park Road to Minorca Road.

Justified objections

This single aspect understandably brought fifty objections, around the undesirable impact of opening up a completely new access from Portmore Way on safeguarding the primary school, and on church parking. This means the planning application has to wait to be decided by a planning committee of councillors, rather than be decided quickly by a planning officer.

A Portmore Way entrance would also bring practical issues and further potential delays, as the hospital site is a metre higher than Portmore Way, and separated from it by mature trees.

So it would mean tree felling, purchase of carbon offset, and also, outside the NHS land, the design and construction by Surrey of a zig-zag sloping connecting path and handrails on Surrey Highways’ adopted Portmore Way land, plus provision of street lighting. How long would that take? And where is the budget?.

Why not Footpath 20 / Minorca Road?

The Surrey Highways’ intent was good, but their active travel solution ignored (or was unaware of) the fact that there was already a much-used active travel route from north Weybridge, via dual use FP20 from Portmore Park Road to Minorca Road, giving — prior to the fire — convenient direct (and level) pedestrian and cycle access into the Hospital site via the pavement which curves from Minorca Road into the site’s NHS land.

Weybridge Hospital Minorca Road entrance in 2016 with pedestrian pavement access

Extract from 2024/3065 Transport Assessment showing Minorca Road access in 2016, with pavement entrance

We are told by NHS Property Services that, while non-emergency vehicle access to the site will be blocked here, there was no intention in the Health Centre 2024/3065 plans to prohibit use of this FP20/Minorca Road pavement pedestrian and cycle entrance. They were simply preventing motor vehicle acccess other than emergency.

Surrey has a history of forgetting FP20. In 2009 it had fallen off their radar and lacked any maintenance schedule. It was becoming very overgrown despite daily use by many residents. But these days it is clearly shown on Surrey’s official online map as FP20, and it is in their dual use pedestrian/cycle active travel scheme. It is a very convenient active travel route from Portmore Park Road.

Amended plans coming

NHS Property Services is very willing to amend its plans and remove any reference to a Portmore Way entrance, which was not part of the original concept, and make it explicitly clear that active travel access will be restored via FP20 / Minorca Road. It will need Surrey Highways approval, and then Elmbridge planning consent.

The revision will mean submitting updated plans to Elmbridge Borough Council after consulting relevant bodies, plus the statutory 21 days for public comment.

Lobbying Surrey County Council

Following discussions of the issues with our Weybridge Surrey County Councillor, Tim Oliver, we have been told that if NHS amend their plans to make it clear they include pedestrian [and cycle] access from a FP20/Minorca Road entrance, the issue should be resolved without the need to open up a new entrance via Portmore Way.

Local support will help

Given the 53 current objections, it would be really helpful to have at least as many letters of support for the revised plans. And then we may at last get a proper Health Centre to replace our much missed Weybridge Hospital.

You can read a full case against having a Portmore Way entrance in this document [2MB pdf], which was shared with SCC Councillor for Weybridge, Tim Oliver, along with the following covering note:

To Tim Oliver from Miles Macleod, 10 April 2025

Submission re Surrey Highways view on Portmore Way vs FP20/Minorca Road for active travel access (EBC 2024/3065)

Tim
Thank you again for your very prompt and helpful responses on this. The highly negative impact of creating a new Portmore Way access is an extremely important topic locally, as is avoiding any further unnecessary delay in rebuilding the hospital.

I attach a submission summarising what we believe is a very strong case for an active travel entrance to Weybridge Health Centre via Minorca Road & FP20 and NOT via Portmore Way. This was compiled after meeting with representatives from the local community, the church and school in Portmore way, NHS Property Services, NHS Surrey Heartlands and an EBC councillor. Please do look at it, and share with Surrey Highways.

I understand that NHS Property Services will be submitting amended documents showing no access from the Portmore Way site boundary, and reinstating the former pedestrian and cycle access from Minorca Road. The hope is that this updated application can be considered and accepted by EBC planning (sub-)committee in July, so that construction can at long last start this summer. Plainly it would be helpful if Surrey Highways are supportive. Further delay would be hugely unpopular.

The Transport Assessment will also be modified accordingly, but I note that even in the current version para 5.3.8, limiting Minorca Road access to ‘emergency vehicles only’, sits under a subheading ‘Vehicular Access’, and would not therefore apply to pedestrian and cycle access. I understand from NHS Property Services that there was no intention to prohibit pedestrian and cycle access from Minorca Road.

I hope the attached submission proves sufficiently persuasive for Surrey Highways to revise their view. It seeks to be self explanatory, but failing that, I would very much welcome a meeting to discuss the issues with you and Surrey Highways.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
Miles
———————
Miles Macleod

Response from Tim Oliver, 14 April 2025

Miles
I have discussed the matter with […] the officer at SCC dealing with the application. His simple point is that in the absence of pedestrian access from Minorca Road the existing footpath would mean a long loop round via the High Street to access the site. If the NHS are now saying, there will be pedestrian access then I think the matter will be resolved without opening up a route from Portmore Way.
Kind regards
Tim

Tim Oliver OBE
Leader of Surrey County Council

Watch for updates

Once the amended plans are submitted, we will update this posting accordingly, and we hope the revised plans will receive strong local support.

Update on planning future health services for Weybridge

Residents who signed up to participate in consultation about future health services for Weybridge following the Community Hospital fire have received the update below.

Note that the NW Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) website has been updated with NW Surrey CCG’s informative reports of the two community meetings held on 17 October in St James’ Church, Weybridge.

PPDRA aims to contribute to the consultation in liaison with members who wish to particpate in the engagement process. If you are strongly interested in the shape of our future health services in Weybridge, please let us know.

FROM: Comms (NHS NORTH WEST SURREY CCG)
DATE: Wed 15/11/2017 13:30
SUBJECT: Engaging the local community in planning future health services for Weybridge

Thank you very much for expressing an interest in joining a smaller working group/s to consider future health services for Weybridge.

We have set out our draft engagement plans below, and it would be really helpful if you could let us know which group/s you might be interested in participating in:

Engaging local people across North West Surrey on our urgent care strategyAs we described at the public meetings in Weybridge on 17 October, we are starting to think about how we plan and improve access to urgent care services across North West Surrey. This will include services in Weybridge so it makes sense to start thinking about the wider picture first before we focus on the detail for a new healthcare facility in Weybridge.To start this engagement, we are planning to hold a wider engagement event (possibly end November/beginning of December) with up to around 50 people from across North West Surrey to start thinking about the best way to provide urgent care, on the day services for local people. This is likely to be a daytime event and we will also be inviting people from other parts of North West Surrey. This would include some facilitated table discussion.

A smaller working group to look at our developing urgent care strategyFollowing the event above, we would look to create a smaller working group that might meet every 2-4 weeks for a period of several months while we work through options and move towards public consultation.
Weybridge Hospital Patient Advisory GroupOnce we have clearer plans for urgent care access across North West Surrey, we would like to create a dedicated patient group to consider services + the look and feel/design for a new health facility in Weybridge. We anticipate a working group of up to around 20 people. This is not likely to meet until well into the New Year. This group is likely to meet approx. once a month for the duration of our planning for the new build (which could be up to around 2 years depending on how the planning moves forward).

As we indicated at the meetings in Weybridge, engaging the local community is a key part of our planning; we will continue to keep people updated via our website, the local press and other methods as appropriate and there will also be opportunities for more people to get involved during public consultation where we will also have further public meetings. During that wider consultation period we would also be very happy to come out and talk to local groups as much as possible.

In the meantime, we would be very grateful if you could indicate which of the above you would be interested in participating in; these are not mutually exclusive so you could opt for more than one if you wish.

All up to date information on Weybridge Community Hospital is now on our website and can be found here.

Communications and Engagement Team
NHS North West Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group
58 Church Street, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8DP

Web: www.nwsurreyccg.nhs.uk
Follow us on Twitter @NWSurreyCCG

Weybridge Community Hospital — concern over which services will return

St James’ church was packed to capacity for two meetings on Tuesday 17 October. Around 800 local residents attended, hoping to hear positive news about health services returning to our town, after the destruction of Weybridge Community Hospital in the disastrous fire back in July.

The news was mixed. Good news is that the hospital site will be retained, interim accommodation for the two GP practices is being constructed as rapidly as possible, and should be up and running in December, and a new permanent building will be constructed on the site over the next three years or so.

The bad news is that Weybridge is unlikely to get back the Community Hospital as it was, with its Walk In Centre, X-Rays and extensive outpatient services.

What about the Walk In Centre?

So what will we get? North West Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group (NWS CCG) is responsible for deciding. The meetings were led by Matthew Tait, of NWS CCG, along with representatives of NHS Property Services and local GP practices.

The publicity handout headed ‘services returning to the former Weybridge Community Hospital Site’ (see below) made it clear that GP practices, a range of treatment room services, and Lloyds Pharmacy will return. Beyond that, all is up for discussion.

The great area of concern for residents at both meetings was the future of the Walk In Centre and X-rays etc. Will the Walk In Centre be returning?

We were told that Walk In Centres are now an outdated concept, that CCG thinking has moved on. But there will be treatment services. There is no short-term replacement for the Walk In Centre, as there is no space on the site and no other suitable site has been found. [Surrey County Councillor Tim Oliver on 20 Sept told local residents that part of the library building had been considered for a replacement Walk In Centre, but proved not to be feasible.]

CCG ‘engaging with community in NW Surrey’

About NW Surrey CCG

Residents were told repeatedly by Matthew Tait of the NW Surrey CCG, and his colleagues, that they would be engaging with the community of North West Surrey to understand local needs, and that future services would be shaped to meet those needs.

It appears that NWS CCG are starting with a clean sheet of paper, and looking at the needs of local towns from Ashford to Woking and beyond, in deciding what future facilities we will have in Weybridge.

Before the fire at Weybridge Community Hospital, Weybridge was a hub for local community health services. The loss of the Community Hospital means that we are no longer a working hub.

The services delivered in Weybridge in future may be better or worse than before the fire, NWS CCG cannot say at present, but CCG have a duty to look at the overall clinical needs of North West Surrey.

Weybridge concern about LOCAL provision

For many Weybridge residents, the important question has a different emphasis: ‘will we get back the LOCAL provision of health services that we lost in the fire?’

NW Surrey CCG cannot promise that we will get them back. But CCG want to engage with the community, and the massive turnout at the two meetings — CCG had originally planned to hold them in a room with a capacity of 100 people! — is a sure sign that Weybridge residents care deeply about local provision of those services.

There are natural concerns that our town may be diminished by a long-term loss of local provision of services which we value highly and rely on.

But as Matthew Tait has said, we may get something better and more future-proof. Perhaps the voice of local residents will be heard.

Three years of interim services

20 ‘pods’ (portakabins) have already been sited on part of the Weybridge Community Hospital site previously used for staff car parking, and these are being fitted out as GP Surgery facilities, plus treatment rooms.

The interim facilities on the former hospital site should be up and running by December 2017, at which point the Church Street Practice and Rowan Tree Practice will return to Weybridge. Another pod will house Lloyds Pharmacy.

Limited parking

There will be parking on the interim site for about 30 cars (presumably this will mainly be for staff parking?), including disabled spaces. The impact of this reduction in parking over the next three years is likely to be significant.

[If the remainder of the site will not actually be built on until two years time, would it not be possible to level most of it, and use it for temporary parking until building actually starts?]

There were questions about the possibility of increasing parking space longer term via underground parking (too expensive at £15,000 per space, according to NHS Property Services) or a multi-storey car park on the site (not dismissed, but likely to face cost and planning issues).

Three year plan

The majority of the interim site will become a building site for construction of a new building by NHS Property Services, following commissioning by CCG, in a process expected to last around three years:

12 week consultation in NW Surrey looking at community clinical needs
Followed by a feasibility study & further engagement
Outline business case + procurement
2-3 months design
3-4 months for town planning consideration and consent
8 weeks tendering process
12 months of building and fitting out

Community Engagement

Throughout the meeting, the words ‘engage’ and ‘engagement with the community’ were repeatedly used. PPDRA looks forward to genuine consultation, and has asked to be part of the process.