'£350 million Sandwell super hospital approved'

£350 million Sandwell super hospital approved

This £350 million super hospital – home to 670 beds and 15 operating theatres – has been given the green light to be built in Sandwell.

The long-awaited Midland Metropolitan Hospital cleared its final hurdle tonight after being backed by members of Sandwell Council’s planning committee. The super hospital is expected to open in Grove Lane, Smethwick, in late 2018 and will serve more than half a million people living in Sandwell and West Birmingham. Construction is expected to begin in January.

At the meeting, Anthony Harding, the hospital trust's planning consultant, said: "It will not only deliver a major hospital development but significant transformation benefits for Cape Hill, Smethwick and Sandwell."

Planning committee chairman Steven Frear added: "This is the biggest planning application since I have been chairman and the biggest in Sandwell for a long time.

"It is a step in the right direction, a good, good plan. I'm looking forward to autumn 2018."

Cradley Heath and Old Hill Councillor Julie Webb said she was particularly impressed with the artists' impressions of the site, which were shown to committee members during the meeting.

"It is a beautiful building and as we say here in the Black Country, you have done a bostin' job," she said.

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