Who Is Deciding Frimley’s Future? The People Behind the Pine Ridge Hospital Proposal Deserve Proper Public Scrutiny

The proposed relocation of Frimley Park Hospital to land at Pine Ridge Golf Club / Frimley Fuel Allotments is not just a planning story. It is not just an NHS estate story. It is not just a traffic story, a woodland story, a charity land story, or a local politics story.

It is all of those things at once.

That is why the public now needs to look beyond the glossy engagement boards and carefully managed statements. The community deserves to know who is actually shaping this decision, who has formal power, who is influencing the process, who has spoken out, who has stayed silent, and who may ultimately be asked to approve, defend, sell, scrutinise or justify one of the most significant local infrastructure decisions in a generation.

This is not about attacking individuals. It is about accountability.

Frimley Park Hospital clearly needs a long-term solution. Most residents accept that. The existing hospital has serious RAAC-related challenges and the area needs a modern, safe and resilient hospital. That is not the dispute.

The dispute is whether the right site has been chosen, whether the process has been transparent, whether proper evidence has been shown, and whether local people are being asked to engage with a decision that already appears to have gathered significant momentum behind closed doors.

At the centre of the proposal is Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, led by Chief Executive Lance McCarthy, with senior figures including Caroline Hutton, Kirk Ward and the new hospital programme team. Publicly, the Trust is presenting the Pine Ridge / Frimley Fuel Allotments location as its proposed site. It says the land has not yet been purchased, that no final decision has been made, and that further technical work and engagement will take place.

But for many residents, that wording raises more questions than it answers.

If no final decision has been made, why is this site being presented so firmly? If the process is open, where is the full site scoring? If 18 sites were assessed, why has the public not seen the evidence behind the rejection of the others? If transport, environmental impact and infrastructure are still to be assessed in detail, how could this location already be identified as the preferred way forward?

Those are not minor questions. They go to the heart of whether the process is evidence-led or outcome-led.

Then there is Frimley Fuel Allotments itself.

This charity is not an ordinary private landowner. Its historic purpose is connected to relief of hardship and distress among people in the old Parish of Frimley. Its land has deep local significance, both historically and practically. It is used and valued by walkers, families, dog owners, golfers, nature lovers and local residents who see it as part of the area’s green fabric.

The charity’s trustees, chaired by Alan McClafferty, therefore sit in a highly significant position. They are not merely dealing with an administrative transaction. They are custodians of land with public, charitable and community importance.

That means the public is entitled to ask direct questions.

What discussions have taken place with the NHS Trust? What valuation process has been followed? What legal advice has been received? Has the Charity Commission been consulted? How would the sale of a major part of the land advance the charity’s objects? What would happen to the charity’s long-term income? How were beneficiaries considered? Why has the local community not been more openly consulted by the charity itself?

Silence is no longer enough.

The role of Surrey Heath Borough Council is also critical. The council may not be the promoter of the scheme, but it is central to the planning environment and local democratic response. The Planning Applications Committee will be one of the most important bodies to watch if and when a formal application is submitted.

That places councillors in a difficult but important position. Some may be rightly cautious about making public comments before any planning decision, because councillors must avoid predetermination. But residents are still entitled to understand who sits on the committee, what interests may need to be declared, and how any conflicts or dual roles will be managed.

This is especially important where individuals may have connections to both local government and Frimley Fuel Allotments. Any overlap between council roles, trustee roles, planning responsibilities or political influence must be handled with absolute transparency. The public should not have to dig through committee lists, charity records and council pages to understand who is involved.

There should be a clear public register, written in plain English, showing who is involved, what role they hold, what decisions they may influence, and what safeguards are in place.

Local MPs also matter.

Dr Al Pinkerton, MP for Surrey Heath, has taken a clear public position against the Frimley Fuel Allotments proposal. He has raised concerns about infrastructure, access, traffic, green space, cost and transparency. That matters because he is giving voice to a large number of residents who are not opposing a new hospital, but are opposing this location.

Other nearby MPs, including those representing communities served by Frimley Park Hospital, should also be asked where they stand. This hospital does not only serve one borough. It serves a wider regional population across Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. If the site creates access problems, those problems will not respect constituency boundaries.

The public deserves clarity from every elected representative whose residents would depend on this hospital.

The national picture must also be scrutinised. The Department of Health and Social Care, the national New Hospital Programme and ministerial figures may not be involved in the day-to-day local debate, but they are part of the approval and funding framework. If public money is to support a hospital on this site, then public evidence must support the choice of this site.

At the moment, residents are being asked to accept too much on trust.

They are being told the site followed an extensive selection process, but not being shown enough of the underlying detail. They are being told traffic and transport will be assessed, but not shown why those issues did not prevent the site from being preferred in the first place. They are being told engagement matters, while many feel the direction of travel has already been set. They are being told no final decision has been made, while senior figures publicly promote the proposal as the way forward.

That gap between official reassurance and public perception is where trust breaks down.

The next stage of scrutiny should therefore focus on people as much as process.

• Who selected the site?
• Who signed off the scoring?
• Who negotiated with the charity?
• Who approved the agreement that allows further work to proceed?
• Who will decide whether to sell the land?
• Who will vote on the planning application?
• Who has publicly supported the proposal?
• Who has publicly opposed it?
• Who has remained neutral?
• Who has remained silent?

And who stands to be remembered, years from now, as having protected the community fabric of Frimley, or helped dismantle it?

This campaign should now move into a new phase.

Residents should continue raising traffic, school access, ecology, woodland, ambulance access, public transport, infrastructure and brownfield-site concerns. But alongside that, there must be a calm, factual and persistent accountability exercise.

Because this is not simply about one hospital site.

It is about how local places are changed, who gets to change them, and whether ordinary residents are genuinely heard before irreversible decisions are made.

If Pine Ridge / Frimley Fuel Allotments really is the best and only viable site, then the Trust, the charity, the council and national decision-makers should be able to prove it openly.

If they cannot, the public should not be expected to simply stand aside while a treasured local landscape is handed over to a project that has not yet earned the community’s confidence.

A new hospital is needed.

But the right hospital must be built in the right place, through the right process, with the right evidence, and with the people responsible held clearly and publicly to account.

As of 23 June 2026: who stands where?

For now, below is a working list of the people and organisations most relevant to the proposed Frimley Park Hospital relocation to Pine Ridge / Frimley Fuel Allotments land, and their apparent public position as of 23 June 2026.

This list is based on public statements, official roles, published records and institutional responsibilities. Where no clear public position has been found, that is marked as unknown. “Institutionally supportive” does not necessarily mean a private personal view is known; it means the person’s public role places them on the promoting, delivery or enabling side of the proposal.

Person / organisation	Role	Why they matter	Apparent public position on Pine Ridge / Frimley Fuel Allotments site
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust	NHS Trust promoting the new hospital project	Scheme promoter and likely future planning applicant	For / promoter
Lance McCarthy	Chief Executive, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust	Senior Trust leader publicly fronting the proposal	For / promoter
Caroline Hutton	Deputy Chief Executive and Senior Responsible Officer for the New Hospital Programme, Frimley Health	Senior programme owner for the new hospital	For / promoter
Alex White	Programme Director, New Hospital Programme, Frimley Health	Delivery lead for the programme	Institutionally supportive / promoter-side
Kirk Ward	Director of Communications & Engagement, Frimley Health	Responsible for communications and engagement around the programme	Institutionally supportive / promoter-side
Ellie Davies	Associate Director of Communications and Engagement, NHS Frimley ICB	Engagement role linked to the wider health system	Neutral / engagement-side
Sam Burrows	Managing Director, NHS Frimley ICB	Health-system leadership and engagement role	Neutral-to-supportive of process
Department of Health and Social Care	National approval and funding body	Any land purchase and business case approval would require national sign-off	Supportive of programme progress; final approval still required
Karin Smyth MP	Minister of State for Health	Responded to parliamentary questions on the New Hospital Programme and Frimley Park	Supportive of process / not site-opposed publicly
Paul Mustow	Joint Senior Responsible Owner, New Hospital Programme, DHSC	National New Hospital Programme leadership	Supportive of programme progress
Eleanor Schofield	Strategy Manager, Programme Strategy, Funding, Policy & Schemes, New Hospital Programme, DHSC	National programme role	Supportive of process
Dr Al Pinkerton MP	MP for Surrey Heath	Local MP for the directly affected constituency	Against the proposed FFA / Pine Ridge site
Peter Swallow MP	MP for Bracknell	Represents nearby communities likely to use Frimley Park Hospital	Unknown / needs direct confirmation
Surrey Heath Borough Council	Local planning authority and local democratic body	Likely to be central to planning, local scrutiny and community representation	Formally undecided, but council leadership has raised serious concerns
Cllr Shaun Macdonald	Leader, Surrey Heath Borough Council	Key local political figure; has publicly challenged the process	Concerned / sceptical / calling for transparency
Cllr Alan Ashbery	Deputy Leader; Built Environment & Regulation Portfolio Holder; Frimley ward councillor	Senior council role; directly local Frimley relevance	Unknown publicly / key local figure
Cllr Kel Finan-Cooke	Property & Economic Development Portfolio Holder	Relevant to local property, economic and public land context	Unknown publicly
Cllr Lisa Finan-Cooke	Housing & Communities Portfolio Holder	Relevant to community impact	Unknown publicly
Cllr Morgan Rise	Environment & Recreation Portfolio Holder	Relevant to green space, recreation and environmental impact	Unknown publicly
Surrey Heath Planning Applications Committee	Planning decision committee	Likely committee to determine any major future planning application	Formally undecided / must remain open-minded
Cllr David O’Mahoney	Chair, Surrey Heath Planning Applications Committee; Frimley ward councillor	Potentially key planning decision-maker; directly local ward relevance	Unknown publicly / key planning figure
Cllr Richard Wilson	Vice Chair, Surrey Heath Planning Applications Committee	Potentially key planning decision-maker	Unknown publicly / key planning figure
Cllr Mary Glauert	Planning Applications Committee member; Frimley Fuel Allotments trustee	Highly relevant due to dual planning committee and charity trustee roles	Unknown publicly / conflict-watch
Cllr Shaun Garrett	Planning Applications Committee member; Old Dean ward councillor	Planning committee role; nearby ward relevance	Unknown publicly / watch
Cllr Liz Noble	Planning Applications Committee member; Bisley & West End ward councillor	Planning committee role	Unknown publicly / watch
Cllr Jonathan Quin	Planning Applications Committee member	Planning committee role	Unknown publicly / watch
Cllr Kevin Thompson	Planning Applications Committee member	Planning committee role	Unknown publicly / watch
Cllr Victoria Wheeler	Planning Applications Committee member	Planning committee role	Unknown publicly / watch
Cllr David Whitcroft	Planning Applications Committee member	Planning committee role	Unknown publicly / watch
Cllr Helen Whitcroft	Planning Applications Committee member; Frimley Green ward councillor	Planning committee role; nearby ward relevance	Unknown publicly / watch
Cllr Valerie White	Planning Applications Committee member	Planning committee role	Unknown publicly / watch
Cllr Jonny Cope	Surrey Heath councillor for St Pauls; Chair of Audit, Standards & Risk Committee	Nearby political figure; has publicly commented against “bandwagon” opposition	Seemingly neutral-to-supportive of process / not clearly opposed
Cllr Josh Thorne	Surrey Heath councillor for St Pauls	Nearby ward relevance	Unknown publicly
Cllr Louise Ashbery	Surrey Heath councillor for Heatherside; Mayor	Nearby ward relevance and civic leadership	Unknown publicly
Cllr Bob Raikes	Surrey Heath councillor for Heatherside	Nearby ward relevance	Unknown publicly
Cllr John Skipper	Surrey Heath councillor for Heatherside; Green Party	Nearby ward relevance; environmental angle potentially relevant	Unknown publicly
Cllr Sashi Mylvaganam	Surrey Heath councillor for Frimley Green	Nearby ward relevance	Unknown publicly
Cllr Jacques Olmo	Surrey Heath councillor for Frimley Green	Nearby ward relevance	Unknown publicly
Cllr Rob Lee	Surrey Heath councillor for Parkside; Frimley Fuel Allotments trustee	Relevant due to councillor and charity trustee overlap	Unknown publicly / conflict-watch
Cllr Nirmal Kang	Surrey Heath councillor for Parkside	Nearby ward relevance	Unknown publicly
Cllr Leanne MacIntyre	Surrey Heath councillor for Town; Performance & Finance Portfolio Holder	Nearby/local council relevance	Unknown publicly
Cllr Cliff Betton	Surrey Heath councillor for Mytchett & Deepcut; Deputy Mayor; Frimley Fuel Allotments trustee	Relevant due to councillor and charity trustee overlap	Unknown publicly / interest to declare / role overlap to be considered
Cllr Murray Rowlands	Surrey Heath councillor for St Michaels; Frimley Fuel Allotments trustee	Relevant due to councillor and charity trustee overlap	Unknown publicly / interest to declare / role overlap to be considered
Trefor Hogg	Surrey County Councillor for Camberley East; Chair of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Frimley Park Hospital; Chair of Adults and Health Select Committee	Very high scrutiny relevance. The JHOSC can require information, gather evidence, question NHS representatives and, in certain circumstances, request escalation. He is also publicly listed as Chairman/Trustee of Surrey Heath Tree Wardens and Surrey Tree Wardens Network.	Unknown publicly / key scrutiny figure
Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Frimley Park Hospital	Cross-authority scrutiny committee involving Surrey, Hampshire and Bracknell Forest, with Windsor & Maidenhead as observer	One of the most important scrutiny bodies for the hospital proposal	Scrutiny body / formally neutral
Cllr Stuart Bailey	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly
Cllr Kevin Betsworth	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly
Cllr Chris Harding	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly
Michaela Martin	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly
Carla Morson	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly
Richard Tear	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly / scrutiny figure
Cllr Sajish Tom	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly
Cllr Tony Virgo	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly
Cllr Gerry Webb	JHOSC member	Health scrutiny role	Unknown publicly
Matt Furniss	Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Economic Growth	Relevant to highways, transport and strategic infrastructure	Unknown publicly / transport-watch
Marisa Heath	Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning	Relevant to environmental and planning context at county level	Unknown publicly / environment-watch
Kevin Deanus	Surrey County Councillor for Frimley Green and Mytchett; Cabinet Member for Fire and Rescue, and Resilience	Nearby county division; emergency resilience relevance	Unknown publicly
Edward Hawkins	Surrey County Councillor for Heatherside and Parkside	Nearby county division	Unknown publicly
Frimley Fuel Allotments CIO	Charity landowner	Owns the wider landholding from which the Trust proposes to acquire land	Institutionally engaged with sale discussions; public stance unclear
Alan McClafferty	Chair, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Leads charity trustees	Unknown publicly; institutionally sale-engaged
James Withers	Treasurer / trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity finance and governance relevance	Unknown publicly
Richard Brignall	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly
Cliff Betton	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments; Surrey Heath councillor	Charity/council overlap	Unknown publicly / interest to declare / role overlap to be considered
Murray Chesterton Rowlands	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments; Surrey Heath councillor	Charity/council overlap	Unknown publicly / interest to declare / role overlap to be considered
Mary Jane Glauert	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments; Planning Applications Committee member	Charity/planning committee overlap	Unknown publicly / interest to declare / role overlap to be considered
Robert William Lee	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments; Surrey Heath councillor	Charity/council overlap	Unknown publicly / interest to declare / role overlap to be considered
Damon Cary Walker	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly
David Parker	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly
Salma Jane Sams	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly
Michael Geddes Paterson OBE	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly
Simon Richard Strachan	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly
Maryann Thomson	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly
Rodney Bates	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly
Mary Gertrude Keys	Trustee, Frimley Fuel Allotments	Charity governance role	Unknown publicly