Near Neighbours

Energy costs are at the front of all our minds. The lights are on full time at the moment as Balfour Beatty are patrolling the building with a security team and operatives checking for issues such as leaks, as the construction works get completed.

As the building progresses, there will be greater ability to limit the amount of lights left on.

The construction phase of the hospital is progressing and deliveries to site are reducing – most now will be in normal working hours. This is expected to continue when the building is handed over to the Trust and installation of equipment begins. There may be some minimal exceptions to normal working day deliveries.

This issue has been added to the construction programme, highlighting the sensitivities of local residents.

Privacy screen installation as part of the construction programme will be prioritised for the areas adjacent to local housing.

The Flue Tower (North Elevation) is for hospital heating only. There is no crematorium facility at MMUH. Extract velocity, topology surveys and planning considerations are all taken into taken into account to avoid any smell spill to adjacent areas.

Vacancies at the Trust are all advertised on the Trust website. Many of these posts will relocate to Midland Met once the new hospital opens. As we get nearer to opening more positions dedicated to the new hospital will be advertised. For our latest vacancies, visit https://www.swbh.nhs.uk/work-for-us/.

The Trust is looking through its plans to identify spaces which can be offered as retail opportunities for local businesses. As these opportunities arise, we will share how to register an interest.

We recognise this issue and we are keen to collaborate with the local councils and the West Midlands Combined Authority to look into the plans for parking for residential areas.

We have committed to arranging a follow up meeting to discuss parking issues, bringing other agencies round the table (e.g. local authority representatives) and will inform you of the meeting details in due course.

There are 1600 onsite parking spaces over two floors underneath the building, plus electronic charging facilities as part of our green strategy. We anticipate this is sufficient to serve the patients, staff and visitors to Midland Met.  And, as outpatients and routine diagnostics services will not take place at the Midland Met hospital, just acute and emergency care – this means the footfall people at the hospital will be significantly less.

We anticipate that parking will be sufficient for those visiting the hospital. Local transport services are also being improved to ensure our local populations are able to easily access the hospital.

Birmingham City Council will be widening the roadways and improving the bus lanes and transport network within the area.  We are working with the council to connect the bike cycle lanes through the hospital site to help ease congestion in the area.

This will be raised with the local authority as part of the discussions about travel, transport and car parking around the new hospital site.

The Trust has a Green Strategy in place. The Midland Met hospital is fully insulated and this is an important part of the Trust’s journey to become net carbon zero by 2030.

Yes, the business case has been updated to take into account the healthcare changes following the covid-19 pandemic, demographic changes. There is also enough capacity to expand in the future.

The Trust has sold the City Hospital land to Homes England who will be developing the site for residential use.

We are working closely with local partners on a masterplan for the Smethwick to Birmingham corridor that should see positive changes to the area surrounding the new hospital.

There will be a small pathology laboratory at Midland Met to carry out essential services.  Routine blood tests will be carried out across many sites in Birmingham and Sandwell as it is today.

There will be a same day emergency care facility within the new hospital, as well as a large Emergency Department.

There are many areas within the hospital, such as Winter Garden space, which is an inviting place for visitors, patients and staff to meet and relax.  It is also the main welcoming point and with space for a large art gallery. Public spaces are designed to be accessible for anyone to access – not just patients and visitors

We have several programmes in development that imagines the hospital as a site for socially engaged art, a place for children beyond the classroom and a civic and community hub and garden. To see how your organisation can work with us contact amy.martin31@nhs.net.

The Learning Campus is being built in partnership with the Sandwell College, Aston and Wolverhampton universities, and incorporates The Learning Works​.

Through targeted courses for 1280 learners, it will focus on bridging the gap on skill shortages across additional clinical services, allied health professionals and nursing and midwifery.   The Learning Campus will also provide learners with pathways into long term employment, complimenting the delivery of transformational regeneration in the area​.

There will be a series of themed meetings in the future covering topics such as parking, travel and access. We will keep you informed of when they will take place.

We are now preparing for the next meeting to discuss travel and access. Once we have a date and venue, we will contact the Midland Met Near Neighbours to let them know.