THE public’s views on the three initial designs put forward by bidders hoping to build Altrincham’s new hospital have been published today in a report analysing responses to a consultation questionnaire.

The survey ran from 4-10 September to coincide with a week-long public exhibition of the three bidders’ initial proposals and an opportunity for people to meet the bidders, ask questions and give them their views face to face. More than 400 people attended the exhibition and 204 completed the questionnaire at the venue, by post or online.

The three bidders hoping to win the contract are: ·Citybranch Limited, who want to build the hospital on a site they own on Railway Street; ·Nikal Community Solutions, who want to build it on the Altair site near the transport interchange; and ·VINCI Construction UK Limited, who want to build it on the site of the current hospital.

Reactions to the three proposals were evenly balanced, reflecting a wide range of views, and there were some conflicting opinions about whether particular aspects of the options, such as a modern design, should be seen as positive or negative. There were some common themes, however, with people’s top priorities being the availability of convenient parking for the new hospital, good public transport access, and a desire that the new hospital would not cause additional traffic congestion in the town centre.

Respondents were also keen to stress that Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the borough’s hospitals, should choose a design that offers good value for money and could be constructed and open to patients as soon as possible. And they felt the new hospital could be a catalyst for further regeneration in the town centre.

In addition to seeking people’s views through the exhibition and consultation survey, the Trust has established a Development Forum of 18 local people including hospital staff. They met for the first time in August to hear presentations from the three bidders and then gave detailed feedback to the Trust on what they saw as the pros and cons of each option.

Tristram Reynolds, Director of Estates & Capital Planning at Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We are very grateful to everyone who took the trouble to give us their views. As you might expect, there were differing opinions about some issues – for example, people’s preferred architectural design – but there were also a number of common themes that will help us ensure the new hospital meets local people’s needs.”

Feedback from the public questionnaire and the Development Forum will help the Trust decide which of the three bidders should move ahead to the next stage of the selection process. It will also enable those bidders to develop and improve their proposals. The Trust is currently finalising space requirements in the new hospital for each of the clinical services and will then invite some or all three of the bidders to submit detailed proposals for the new hospital, before selecting the successful contractor in spring next year. It is hoped the new hospital will open in 2012. The full report analysing feedback on the bidders’ outline solutions for the new hospital can be downloaded from the Altrincham General Hospital section of the Trust’s website www.trafford.nhs.uk. It is also available in hard copy by calling 0845 230 0139 (local rate call).