Cash from new home developers in Milton Keynes ploughed into vital new hospital unit

Millions of pounds of cash from developers allowed to build new homes all over the city is being ploughed into a new radiotherapy unit for Milton Keynes hospital.

The money is known as developer contributions, which are planning tools council can use to provide infrastructure to support the new households and mitigate the impact of development.

Milton Keynes City Council is set to hand over £5.7m of this cash to fund the radiotherapy facility. It brings the total the council has has given to the hospital for cancer and acute care to £15.7m.

This week, council leader Cllr Pete Marland joined hospital Chief Executive Joe Harrison at the site of the new centre, which is due to be completed as early as Spring 2024.

It will mean MK patients who currently have to travel to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford – often a gruelling three hour round trip - could instead receive essential treatment on their doorstep.

Pete said: “One of the benefits of living in a growing city is to have specialist healthcare such as cancer care close to home, so we’re pleased to help the University Hospital unlock this important facility for local residents.

"£15m buys some state-of-the-art facilities which the team is making and will continue to make fantastic use of.”

The City Council has worked closely with the Milton Keynes University Hospital Trust for several years, using money that it raises from commercial developers as they build new homes to develop facilities and health services on the campus at Eaglestone.

The council is able to spend the contribution it negotiates from housebuilders on a range of facilities that would benefit local people as the city grows. It previously provided £5m towards the Hospital’s Maple Centre for emergency assessments and care which opened in late 2022, and £5m towards its bespoke Cancer Centre which opened in early 2020.

Joe Harrison said: “We are incredibly grateful for the support that we receive from Milton Keynes City Council. This partnership is helping us to provide fantastic new clinical facilities for some of our sickest patients.”

He added: “We look forward to continuing to work closely with the team at the council as we develop our Radiotherapy Centre.”