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The site

Why can’t we stay at the current Velindre Cancer Centre site?

The number of people diagnosed with cancer is increasing.
The current Velindre Cancer Centre is over 65 years old and does not have the facilities or space to meet this future challenge.

Where will the new Velindre Cancer Centre be located?
The preferred site is land, referred to locally as the northern meadows, located about half a mile north east of the current Velindre Cancer Centre.

Why did you choose the site?

The site was selected because it is NHS owned land where the principle of development is already well established and agreed by Cardiff Council. (The council granted planning permission for housing on the site).

The chosen site is bigger than the current Velindre Cancer Centre and Whitchurch Hospital sites put together. The Whitchurch hospital is also a listed building which makes it difficult to redevelop as a modern cancer centre.

The site’s proximity to the M4 and A470 means that it provides easier access for three quarters of our patients who travel to us from across south east Wales. This will also mean that patients will no longer have to travel into Whitchurch which will have a positive effect on traffic congestion in the village.

Thirdly, the site provides the space and quality of outlook which will help our patients and their wellbeing at difficult and anxious times.

Who owns the land on which the new cancer centre is planned?

The site is now owned by Velindre University NHS Trust having been previously owned by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Which other sites did you consider for the new Velindre Cancer Centre?

We selected the site after reviewing other potential options in the wider NHS estate. We identified potential sites at Llanfrechfa Grange, north of Newport, land opposite the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport and land adjoining the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff.  At that time, our aim was to construct the hospital in 2021/2022 and these sites did not provide what we needed. The Newport sites were not geographically suitable because the majority of our patients live in the Cwm Taf Morganwg and Cardiff areas.  The site near UHW was too small for our needs.

We also reviewed the possibility of building on the current Whitchurch Hospital but this was too small to construct the cancer centre to the required standards.  Land to the south west of Whitchurch Hospital has outline planning permission for a hospital but is too small.

We also considered another site next to Whitchurch Hospital but it wasn’t big enough.

Co-location at UHW was considered in 2020 by the independent health think tank the Nuffield Trust, when, having considered evidence from a range of stakeholders, it advised that co-location would not be an option for some considerable time. It also emphasised that solutions to the immediate issues facing cancer services across south east Wales and at Velindre Cancer Centre were “required now rather than an indeterminate point in the future.