News story
19 April 2024
A leading clinician behind the East of England’s Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital has welcomed the decision by councillors to give the go ahead to the pioneering new hospital on the City’s Biomedical Campus – saying there was no other place in Europe it could have been built.
Dr Hugo Ford, Clinical Lead at CCRH, said: “There are only a very few places in the world that are focussing on early cancer. Cambridge is the only one in Europe, that is why the project has to be here. Every new technology that is introduced as a result of the hospital and the work that goes on in the hospital has the potential to save thousands of lives.”
The new hospital, which will bring together clinical and research expertise under one roof, will detect cancer earlier, treat it more precisely, and save more lives.
Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) – the charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals, whose supporters raise funds to help make the hospitals even better – has recently launched a public appeal to contribute £12 million towards the building of the new cancer hospital.
ACT’s Chief Executive Shelly Thake said: “We are so excited the new cancer hospital has been given the go ahead by councillors. We can’t emphasise enough how important all the fundraising efforts of our supporters are, as together with Government funds and grants, they will really help drive this project forward.”
Fundraising for the new hospital has already begun in earnest – with our amazing supporters busy organising events. In one weekend alone, our supporters raised more than £100,000 for the new hospital, which experts say will change the story of cancer.
If you would like to support fundraising efforts, please visit our website.
ACT’s community fundraising team has organised lots of exciting challenges for fundraisers to take part in throughout the year, including marathons, ultras, walks, skydives and bungee jumps. Find out more.
We also support any fundraisers who wish to organise their own events such as charity football matches and auctions. If you would like to get in contact, email us at fundraising@act4addenbrookes.org.uk.
Please see below for the official press release from the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital team, welcoming the planning news:
We welcome today’s planning committee decision, with councillors recommending approval to build Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Architect image of Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital
Our new specialist cancer research hospital will be the first of its kind for the East of England, and will transform the lives of the millions of people diagnosed with cancer.
Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will bring together NHS staff from Addenbrooke’s Hospital and world-leading scientists from the University of Cambridge and its Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, under one roof. We are breaking down barriers between the laboratory and the clinic, enabling patients to benefit from the latest innovations in cancer science, to detect the disease at a much earlier stage and develop personalised treatments to patients.
We’re continuing to work closely with our partners and the local planning authority to ensure we balance the needs of a new hospital development, against the wider growth and infrastructure requirements for Cambridge, both of which are important to our staff, patients and the local community.
It will be a low carbon and electric powered hospital, full of light, with access to outdoor spaces and designed to meet the NHS’s new Net-Zero Carbon Building Standard.
We are continuing to make significant progress on our programme. Pre-construction works are set to begin this summer to start preparing the site for full construction works in 2025. www.cambridgecancer.org.uk/our-vision
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