MONKLANDS REPLACEMENT PROJECT
PUBLIC CONSULTATION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Welcome to the Monklands public consultation FAQs. For the full public consultation web page and high resolution PDFs please return to the main home page.
What is the Monklands Replacement Project (MRP)?
It is NHS Lanarkshire’s exciting and positive vision for University Hospital Monklands, setting out proposals to transform healthcare services for our people and communities. This is based on building a new state-of-the-art University Hospital Monklands on a new site at Wester Moffat, near Airdrie. This will allow us to meet the needs of a modern healthcare service.
The new Monklands will be Scotland’s first digital hospital and will deliver our blueprint for how clinicians will treat patients in the future – what we call our ‘clinical model’ – bringing tangible benefits for patients, visitors and staff alike.
This will help us achieve our vision of providing high-quality, innovative and person-centred health and social care that helps achieve a healthier life for all.
What is this consultation about?
Later this year, NHS Lanarkshire will submit an application for planning consent to North Lanarkshire Council regarding our proposal to build the new University Hospital Monklands at Wester Moffat, near Airdrie.
Before this happens it’s very important that we get feedback from the community about our plans. Planning legislation requires that “major developments” such as the new hospital project undertake pre-application consultation with local communities.
The consultation involves a range of actions including holding events for members of the public to give us comments on the proposals and engaging with every community council which has part of its area within or adjoining the land on which the proposed development is situated.
When is the consultation taking place?
It will run for 28 days from 2 March-29 March 2022.
Where exactly is the Wester Moffat site?
It’s at Wester Moffat Farm on the outskirts of Airdrie, east of Drumgelloch and north of Petersburn. You can see a map on the planning consultation website:
How can I get involved in the consultation?
All the information you need to take part is on the MRP planning consultation website here – www.keppiedesign.co.uk/mrp
You’ll find:
- Details and times for the two live public events on (these are virtual due to COVID-19 restrictions);
- Comments form (online or printable)
- Email/phone/Freepost options for your feedback;
- A video about the project;
- A host of information on the current site, its surroundings, the background to the project and the emerging design, all to assist your consideration of the proposals;
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs).
When are the public events?
- Thursday 17 March 2022 between 4pm – 8pm.
- Saturday 19 March 2022 between 12noon – 4pm.
These are web-based ‘chat box’ events, hosted on the MRP planning consultation website – www.keppiedesign.co.uk/mrp. During these times just click on the chat bubble on the bottom right of the website to join in.
How can people take part if they don’t use email/internet?
You can request a paper copy of the consultation material and comments forms to be posted to you:
Phone – 01698 752320
Write to – FREEPOST RTEJ-HZLK-AETZ, Communications Dept, NHS Lanarkshire, Kirklands, Fallside Road, Bothwell, G71 8BB.
Monklands isn’t my local hospital so why should I be interested?
You may be treated at the new hospital even if you don’t live in the area of North Lanarkshire that makes up its catchment area (which is for patients needing unscheduled care). Just like the current hospital, the new University Hospital Monklands will treat patients from across North and South Lanarkshire in its specialist services, known as “centres of excellence”.
These will be:
- Cancer care
- Ear, nose & throat surgery
- Histopathology (the study of changes in tissues caused by disease)
- Infectious disease medicine
- Lanarkshire Beatson radiotherapy centre
- Renal (kidney) medicine
- Urology surgery
Why can’t you have face-to-face public events?
We are following Scottish Government guidance on safely carrying out a planning consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic. It states that the alternative online consultation should enable the exchange of views that would otherwise be achieved by normal face-to-face public events.
The consultation website www.keppiedesign.co.uk/mrp – available to view throughout the consultation – has information relevant to the planning process to inform your feedback. Members of the project team will be available to answers your questions via online chat on the website during the two virtual public events.
How are you making sure people know this consultation is happening?
We’re using lots of communication and engagement methods including information in local newspapers, stakeholder update emails, social media messages with images, and information sent direct to our staff.
You can help us spread the word by letting your family, friends and colleagues know about the consultation and the dedicated website at www.keppiedesign.co.uk/mrp
How will the feedback be used?
With the support of our advisors and planning experts from the project’s architects, it will be analysed and collated in a detailed consultation report that will be submitted to North Lanarkshire Council for consideration along with the application for planning consent.
What happens then?
When the planning application is submitted later this year the public will have the opportunity make comments direct to North Lanarkshire Council to inform the local authority’s consideration of the application.
How will people get to the Wester Moffat site by road?
Access to the site will be via a junction from the planned East Airdrie Link Road (EALR) – the section of the Pan Lanarkshire orbital transport corridor that will run from the M8 towards Cumbernauld. Funding has been secured by North Lanarkshire Council to construct the EALR and the road is planned to be completed before the new hospital opens.
Will there be suitable public transport?
NHS Lanarkshire will continue to work closely with partners like North Lanarkshire Council and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport to ensure necessary improvements to public transport are part of the overall project.
This commitment means that the frequency of bus services to and from the new hospital from communities across Lanarkshire will be as good as, or better than, current services to the existing hospital. A bus interchange will be included close to the main entrance of the new hospital, representing a significant improvement in access to public transport services over current arrangements. The site is also close to Drumgelloch railway station.
In addition, NHS Lanarkshire is committed to continuing with the development of a “community transport hub” to ensure that further access to transport can be made available to patients, relatives and carers. The proposed integrated transport hub would enable patients to access all available community transport options and to increase the number of volunteer driver schemes in operation.
Will this consultation influence the plans for public transport provision?
Yes. The planning consultation feedback will help to inform the development of a transport assessment, which will be required as part of the planning approval process.
What about parking?
The new Monklands will benefit from increased parking provision compared to the current hospital. This will be determined in liaison with North Lanarkshire Council in their role as planning authority once we submit our formal application for planning consent. Improved access to public transport services means more people will be able to choose public transport as a viable travel option rather than relying on the car.
Will there be help for staff to travel to the new site?
Yes. Any relocation of a staff base is carried out under NHS Lanarkshire’s organisational change policy, which ensures that colleagues who have additional travel costs to a new location are reimbursed these costs for a period of four years. There will also be new public transport links to the new site. If there was sufficient demand, we would also consider the possibility of running a shuttle bus for staff who currently walk to work, from the vicinity of the current site to Wester Moffat.
Will the Lanarkshire Beatson and Maggie’s Lanarkshire be moving to the new hospital?
Yes. The Lanarkshire Beatson radiotherapy centre will be within the main hospital building, right next to the cancer unit. It is an operational requirement for the Beatson to be located on an acute hospital site. The Maggie’s Lanarkshire cancer support centre will be on the new hospital’s campus and is planned to be within easy walking distance of the cancer unit.
Why will the new hospital have single rooms for patients throughout?
NHS Scotland guidance requires all new-build hospitals provide 100 per cent single room inpatient accommodation.
Will the new hospital be eco-friendly?
The new hospital will be the first in Scotland to be designed from the outset to be net zero for both the build and operation phases, meaning it will not contribute to carbon emissions.
What is the active travel route that’s shown on the plans?
An active travel option is planned and the route shown is indicative and subject to change following the planning consultation and discussion with North Lanarkshire Council. We would welcome your input to help determine the location and form of the active travel route, which is typically a path for pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorised users – it is not currently proposed for vehicles.
How will the active travel route affect the Wester Moffat woodland?
Any active travel route will seek to avoid any unnecessary impact on the existing woodland where possible. The currently-proposed route would look to follow the existing trail route and then follow the route or level of the farm track around the edge of the woodland as much as possible before extending into the site.
Will the development have an impact on the local nature trail?
The MRP team is aware of the significance of the North Calder Heritage Trail to the local community and is committed to its protection and enhancement as part of the delivery of the new University Hospital Monklands.
When will hospital construction start?
We expect advance works to commence in 2023 with main construction works potentially beginning around 2024, subject to business case approval.
When will the new University Hospital Monklands be completed?
We estimate that it will be around 2028 before the new Monklands is completed but this is dependent on completion of the business case.
How was the Wester Moffat site selected?
Following extensive public engagement on site options in 2020, the Scottish Government approved Wester Moffat as the preferred site for the new hospital in January 2021.
There is a separate set of frequently asked questions (FAQs), which includes information on the site selection process, which you can see here.
What are the plans for the existing Monklands site once the new hospital is built?
We intend to create a health and wellbeing village on the current site of University Hospital Monklands after the hospital moves. This means the local community will benefit from enhanced community-based healthcare in addition to the development of a new University Hospital Monklands, helping to reduce health inequalities and providing the opportunity for economic regeneration in the area.
Discussions on this are being progressed with North Lanarkshire Council, the University of Strathclyde and other community planning partners. We expect it to be two years before a firm plan for the site is agreed, following a process of public engagement.
We’ll look for opportunities to repurpose the modern buildings on the existing site that are currently home to the Lanarkshire Beatson and Maggie’s Lanarkshire, but this will be dependent on the final plans for the development of the site.
Where can I find general information about the Monklands Replacement Project (MRP)?
Separate from the planning consultation website, the MRP has its own project webpage – www.monklands.scot.nhs.uk.
You can also follow University Hospital Monklands’ Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/UHMonklands) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/UHMonklands).