In a letter to the Health Secretary, Saqib Bhatti, Member of Parliament for Meriden has put forward a bid with backing from Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council for a new Health and Innovation Campus at the HS2 Interchange at Arden Cross.
The Arden Cross site is situated next to the HS2 Interchange Station and as land is opened up for development it will offer plots for a range of commercial, residential, and other purposes. At maturity, it will support 27,000 jobs and create up to 3,000 homes.
The letter outlines the potential benefits of a new health centre at the site including the “dramatic impact on health outcomes for people across the area”, “technological adoption … additional capacity and new hospital buildings”, as well as its role in helping to address “the regional health inequalities that have been thrown into stark relief by the pandemic”.
Commenting on the campaign to bring the campus to his constituency, Saqib said:
“Andy Street, Cllr Ian Courts and I have been working for many months on this matter, with support from the University Hospitals Birmingham Trust and it is great to see our campaign gaining momentum. In securing £50m at the March Budget, we have been able to unlock vast amounts of potential for this project.
“I am determined to make sure my constituents have access to the best healthcare possible and with this health campus, our vision is to have world leading health care on our doorsteps.
“In my letter to the Health Secretary as well as in conversations with the Department for Health and Social Care, I have continued to make the case for this new campus at the Arden Cross site. This will be a prime location for connectivity, bring thousands of jobs to our area and most importantly increase healthcare provision for our community”.
Leader of Solihull Council Ian Courts said:
“I would like to thank Cllr Ian Ward for his support on this campaign, it is great to have Birmingham City Council supporting our vision for this project and together we can build on the life science legacy of Andy Street”.
