Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust has announced its proposed location for the new Frimley Park Hospital.
The proposed new Frimley Park Hospital site is part of Pine Ridge Golf Club in Frimley, on land owned by Frimley Fuel Allotments. The Trust says the relocation is needed because much of the current Frimley Park Hospital is affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as RAAC.
Surrey Heath Conservatives support the urgent delivery of a new hospital for local people. We also believe this major decision now needs full scrutiny, proper public engagement and clear answers for residents affected by the proposal.
This is one of the most significant local decisions for a generation. It matters to everyone who relies on Frimley Park Hospital. It also matters very directly to residents living close to both the existing hospital site and the proposed new hospital location.
Our response must be calm, factual and responsible.
A new hospital is essential. The existing Frimley Park Hospital has served local people for decades, but much of the building is affected by RAAC and was not designed for the way modern healthcare needs to be delivered. The hospital must be safe, resilient and fit for the future.
At the same time, identifying a proposed site is not the same as completing the process. Residents are entitled to clear answers, proper engagement and rigorous scrutiny before final decisions are made.
Update on 20.7.26 - Frimley Park Hospital Site Selection Report Published: What the Evidence Shows
What Frimley Health has announced about the new hospital site
Frimley Health has identified part of the land currently occupied by Pine Ridge Golf Club as the proposed location for the new Frimley Park Hospital. The land is owned by Frimley Fuel Allotments.
The Trust has stated that Frimley Fuel Allotments owns approximately 265 acres in total and that the proposed hospital site would use around 55 acres, approximately one fifth of that land.
Frimley Health has also made clear that the land has not yet been purchased and that no final decisions have been made. An agreement is in place to allow further technical work and engagement to take place as plans develop. Any decision to purchase the land would require approval through the Department of Health and Social Care business case process.
The Trust says this follows an extensive site selection process involving 18 potential sites within a five-mile radius of the existing Frimley Park Hospital.
Official Frimley Health map showing the proposed hospital land purchase within the wider Frimley Fuel Allotments freehold.
Why Frimley Park Hospital needs to be replaced
Frimley Park Hospital was built for a different era of healthcare and for a smaller population.
Large parts of the current hospital were built using RAAC, a material now known to deteriorate over time and carry increasing structural risk. The NHS has made clear that while extensive monitoring and safety measures are in place, these are temporary and do not provide a sustainable long-term solution.
The new hospital is part of the national New Hospital Programme and is being treated as a priority because of the RAAC issue. Main construction is currently expected to begin between 2028 and 2029, subject to the necessary approvals.
The case for a new Frimley Park Hospital is therefore not simply about having a newer building. It is about patient safety, modern clinical care, future capacity and giving NHS staff the right environment in which to work.
Doing nothing is not a realistic option. The real question is how the NHS can deliver a safe, modern hospital while properly addressing the concerns of residents and communities affected by the proposal.
Why not rebuild Frimley Park Hospital on the current site?
Many residents will understandably ask why the hospital cannot simply be rebuilt where it is.
Frimley Health says this has been examined in detail. The current Frimley Park Hospital site is around 25 acres and is tightly constrained by the M3, nearby housing and Ministry of Defence land. It is also a live hospital site, which means any major rebuild would need to take place while services continued to operate.
The NHS says rebuilding on the current site would involve prolonged disruption, repeated moves of services and entrances, increased clinical and operational risk, extensive temporary works and a more complex, higher-risk construction programme.
The engagement material also explains that rebuilding on the existing site could require a hospital building of around ten storeys, plus plant space, equivalent in scale to a 14 to 15 storey residential building. Early discussions with the local planning authority indicated that a building of that scale would be very difficult to support because of its impact on neighbouring homes and the wider area.
That does not remove the need to scrutinise the proposed new site at Pine Ridge Golf Club. But it does show that the existing site has not simply been ignored.
Which Frimley Park Hospital services would move, and what would remain?
One important point is that this is not a simple proposal to move every current Frimley Park Hospital service wholesale to a new site.
Frimley Health is proposing a hybrid model of care. Under this approach, the new hospital would focus on acute and specialist care, including emergency and urgent care, inpatient medical care, maternity, neonatal and children’s inpatient services, critical care and complex specialist treatment.
Other services would be delivered across a wider network. This would include continued use of suitable non-RAAC buildings at the existing Frimley Park Hospital site, such as the recently opened hospital extension, for outpatient, diagnostic and community-based services.
The Trust also expects more planned care to be delivered at other sites, including Heatherwood Hospital, building on its role as a planned care centre. It also refers to more care being delivered in neighbourhoods, in people’s homes and through digital services.
This matters because transport, access and pressure on local roads will be among the biggest issues for residents. The NHS position is that because the new hospital would focus on acute services, and because outpatient, diagnostic and some planned services would be delivered elsewhere, traffic would be distributed differently across sites.
That claim must now be properly tested through detailed transport modelling, public engagement and formal scrutiny.
What “only viable option” means for the Frimley Park Hospital relocation
Frimley Health has said that the proposed site at Pine Ridge Golf Club is the only viable option identified through its site-selection process.
The engagement document explains that “viable” means technically, legally and financially feasible while meeting the requirements of the New Hospital Programme. Sites were assessed against criteria including size, availability, deliverability, location and access, environmental and planning feasibility, timescales and value for money.
The NHS says no other site met all of those criteria.
Residents are entitled to scrutinise that conclusion. The engagement is not asking people to choose between alternative sites, but it does invite people to comment on the proposed approach, the criteria used and how those criteria were applied.
That is an important distinction. This is not a public vote between different locations. But it is also not a process in which residents’ views should be ignored.
Residents’ concerns about traffic, access and the environment are valid
We fully recognise that this announcement will be deeply concerning for many residents, particularly those living closest to the proposed new hospital site and those living close to the current Frimley Park Hospital site.
The issues are obvious and serious:
- local road capacity
- access to the new hospital
- parking
- public transport
- traffic through residential areas
- ambulance and emergency access
- environmental impact
- biodiversity
- drainage and flood risk
- noise, dust and construction disruption
- protection of green space
- the future use of the current Frimley Park Hospital site
- value for money for taxpayers
These concerns should not be dismissed. They should be answered with evidence.
The fact that a new hospital is essential does not mean the NHS, the Government or any public body should be given a blank cheque. The next stage must test the proposal properly and openly.
Transport, access and parking must be tested properly
Transport and access will be among the biggest tests of the proposed new Frimley Park Hospital site.
The NHS says further traffic and transport surveys and modelling will be undertaken in partnership with local highways authorities and councils. This is expected to include new traffic surveys in the Frimley, Frimley Green and Camberley areas, carried out over representative periods, including outside school holidays, to build a reliable picture of traffic conditions.
The engagement material also refers to a wider traffic network model to identify pinch points and congestion bottlenecks, with the aim of developing interventions, improvements and mitigations.
That work must be robust. Residents will rightly expect the NHS to show how patients, staff, ambulances, visitors, deliveries and emergency vehicles would access the site safely and efficiently.
There must also be serious attention to parking, public transport, walking and cycling routes, accessibility for people without cars and the impact on existing residential roads in Frimley, Heatherside, Parkside, Frimley Green, Camberley and surrounding areas.
Environmental impact and green space must be fully assessed
The proposed new Frimley Park Hospital site sits within a sensitive local environment. It is therefore essential that environmental issues are treated as central to the planning process, not as an afterthought.
The NHS says the proposed build area avoids the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area, the 400 metre buffer zone, the designated Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space and areas identified as Sites of Nature Conservation Importance.
It has also committed to biodiversity net gain.
However, those assurances must still be tested through the formal Environmental Impact Assessment process. The NHS has indicated that this work will consider issues including air quality and dust, noise and vibration, ecology and nature conservation, landscape and visual impact, flood risk, hydrology and drainage, transport and access, lighting, waste and health.
Residents should expect clear evidence on how impacts will be avoided, reduced or mitigated.
The current Frimley Park Hospital site must not be forgotten
The future of the existing Frimley Park Hospital site is another major issue.
The NHS says suitable non-RAAC buildings at the existing site would continue to be used for outpatient, diagnostic and community services. This could help keep many appointments local and reduce the amount of activity moving to the proposed new hospital site. That is important, but more detail will be needed.
Residents deserve clarity on exactly which services would remain, what buildings would be retained, what parts of the site may be repurposed, what would happen to any land or buildings no longer needed for healthcare and how the local community would be consulted on future changes.
The existing site has served Frimley and the wider area for decades. Its future must be part of the scrutiny process.
How residents can take part in the Frimley Park Hospital engagement
Frimley Health and NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board have launched a public engagement programme so that patients, staff, partners and local residents can understand the proposals and share their views.
The engagement will include public meetings, surveys, focus groups, community sessions and targeted work with people living near the proposed site. Independent specialists Opinion Research Services are supporting the process and will analyse the feedback.
This stage is not the same as the later formal planning consultation. It is also not a public vote between alternative sites. But it is still important.
Frimley Health says feedback will help shape future proposals before final decisions are made. The engagement document says comments will be considered alongside clinical advice, technical assessments, affordability, deliverability and national requirements.
Residents should take part, ask questions and put evidence into the process.
The official engagement document, questionnaire and details of how to take part are available through the Frimley Health new hospital page:
- Read the official Frimley Health announcement:
https://www.fhft.nhs.uk/news/frimley-health-identifies-proposed-location-new-hospital-serve-local-communities - Read the official Frimley Health new hospital information and engagement materials:
https://www.fhft.nhs.uk/new-frimley-park-hospital - View the Frimley Health Facebook announcement:
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DjbdMSXQz/
What scrutiny must focus on now
Surrey Heath Conservatives support the delivery of a new hospital for local people. We also believe the next stage must be subject to full scrutiny.
The key tests should include:
- Transport and access
The NHS must demonstrate how patients, staff, ambulances, visitors, deliveries and emergency vehicles will access the site safely and efficiently. - Local road impact
Residents need clear modelling of the impact on roads in Frimley, Heatherside, Parkside, Frimley Green, Camberley and surrounding areas, including peak-time effects and school-run pressure. - Parking and public transport
There must be realistic plans for parking, bus access, walking routes, cycling routes and accessibility for people without cars. - Environmental impact
The effect on wildlife, biodiversity, drainage, flood risk, landscape, noise, air quality and surrounding green space must be properly assessed and mitigated. - The current Frimley Park Hospital site
Residents need clarity on what services will remain, what buildings will be retained, what could change and how any future use of the existing site will be controlled. - Value for money
This is a major national NHS investment. The public should expect proper scrutiny of cost, risk, deliverability and long-term value. - Community confidence
The engagement process must be meaningful, not tokenistic. Residents must be able to see how their concerns have been considered and what has changed as a result.
A responsible way forward for Surrey Heath
It is understandable that people will have strong views about the proposed Frimley Park Hospital relocation.
For some, the priority will be securing a safe, modern hospital as quickly as possible. For others, especially those closest to the proposed site at Pine Ridge Golf Club, the immediate concern will be the impact on their homes, roads, environment and quality of life.
Both perspectives are legitimate. This issue is too important for political point-scoring or simplistic slogans. Surrey Heath needs a new hospital, but it also needs a process that residents can trust.
Our position is clear:
- We support the urgent delivery of a new Frimley Park Hospital.
- We recognise the NHS has now identified a proposed site after assessing alternatives.
- We will not dismiss residents’ concerns.
- We will press for transparency, evidence and accountability at every stage.
- We encourage local people to study the official information, take part in the engagement process and make sure their views are heard.
This announcement is not the end of the process. It is the beginning of the next stage, and that stage must be handled properly.
Frequently asked questions about the new Frimley Park Hospital site
Where is the proposed new Frimley Park Hospital site?
Frimley Health has identified part of Pine Ridge Golf Club in Frimley as the proposed location. The land is owned by Frimley Fuel Allotments. The Trust says the proposed hospital site would use around 55 acres out of the wider 265-acre Frimley Fuel Allotments landholding.
Has the Pine Ridge Golf Club land already been bought?
No. Frimley Health has said the land has not yet been purchased and that no final decisions have been made. An agreement is in place to allow further technical work and engagement. Any purchase would require approval through the Department of Health and Social Care business case process.
Is the new Frimley Park Hospital site decision final?
No. The NHS has identified a proposed site, but the process is not complete. Further technical work, public engagement, national approvals, business case approval and the planning process still need to follow.
Why does Frimley Park Hospital need to be replaced?
Much of the current Frimley Park Hospital is affected by RAAC. While safety measures are in place, the NHS says these are temporary and that replacing much of the hospital is the only viable long-term solution.
Will all Frimley Park Hospital services move to the new site?
No. The NHS is proposing a hybrid model of care. The new hospital would focus on acute and specialist care. Suitable non-RAAC buildings at the existing Frimley Park Hospital site would continue to be used for outpatient, diagnostic and community-based services, with more planned care also expected at other sites such as Heatherwood Hospital.
How can residents take part in the engagement?
Residents can read the official information and find details of the engagement process through the Frimley Health new hospital page. The process includes public meetings, surveys, focus groups, community sessions and targeted work with people living near the proposed site.
What happens next?
Frimley Health will continue public engagement, technical assessment and design work. A future planning application would include formal public consultation as part of the planning process. Residents should take part now and continue to scrutinise the proposal as more detail emerges.
