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Harlow MP Chris Vince dismisses Tory ‘pipe dream’ of a new Princess Alexandra Hospital by 2030




Harlow’s MP told the House of Commons that Conservative promises of a new Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) by 2030 were a “pipe dream”.

Labour’s Chris Vince – whose constituency includes the Hallingburys, Hatfield Broad Oak, Hatfield Heath, Sheering, Lower Sheering and Matching – spoke out in a debate on the Government’s revised New Hospital Programme (NHP), which sets a construction start date of 2032 to 2034 for a state-of-the-art medical campus near junction 7a of the M11 to replace the 1960s hospital at Hamstel Road.

At the start of the week, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting dashed hopes that the project would be prioritised. Instead, the PAH rebuild is behind seven schemes already under way and 16 others to start between 2025 and 2030.

Image of how the new Princess Alexandra Hospital could look
Image of how the new Princess Alexandra Hospital could look

The development, set to cost £1.5bn-£2bn, is one of nine timetabled to commence construction between 2030 and 2035. A further nine hospitals will get the green light between 2035 and 2039.

The PAH project was part of the Conservatives’ 2019 General Election manifesto pledge to build 40 new hospitals across the country by 2030.

Hertford and Stortford Tory MP Julie Marson, who was elected five years ago but lost her seat to Labour’s Josh Dean in last July’s General Election, had claimed: “Work on the hospital can begin as soon as 2025, ready for its completion in 2028.”

Julie Marson and Princess Alexandra Hospital
Julie Marson and Princess Alexandra Hospital

Mr Vince said in Parliament: “I thank the minister for the Secretary of State’s statement on Monday, in which £1.5 billion of Government funding was dedicated to Princess Alexandra Hospital.

“At my local hospital in Harlow, it is not just an issue of funding: in fact, the land was not purchased and the business plan was not completed.

“The idea that the hospital would be completed by 2030 was a pipe dream, was it not?”

Health and social care minister Karin Smyth told Mr Vince he was “absolutely right”.

Chris Vince MP
Chris Vince MP

She said: “We now have a realistic plan to deliver the programme. I am pleased that we can be honest with people as we start a new chapter setting out a new commitment to deliver these hospitals – which are so important to all our constituents – that is realistic and backed with funding.

“We have worked closely with the Treasury to secure five-year waves of investment, backed by £15 billion of investment over consecutive waves, averaging £3 billion a year. This will ensure a balanced portfolio of schemes at different development stages being delivered now and into the future.”

The debate was secured by shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan, Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle in East Sussex and a former doctor.

The design vision for the new Princess Alexandra Hospital
The design vision for the new Princess Alexandra Hospital

He said: “Whatever the new Government may say, progress on the New Hospital Programme was being made under the previous Government, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic and the inflationary pressures on construction costs as a result of the war in Ukraine.

“The programme was incredibly ambitious but remained a significant commitment to investment in hospital infrastructure.

“During the 2024 General Election, the Labour Party committed to delivering the New Hospital Programme. Candidates up and down the country made pledges to deliver on the programme, but this week the Health Secretary broke that pledge at the dispatch box by moving the goalposts.”



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