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📍 New Frimley Park Hospital — Full Process Timeline

📍 New Frimley Park Hospital — Full Process Timeline

Key organisations referenced:

2019–2022 | Early RAAC Risk Management (Context Phase)

PeriodWhat happenedWhy it matters
2019–2022RAAC deterioration at Frimley Park Hospital increasingly monitored; surveys and remediation programmes expandedEstablishes safety risk baseline later used to justify urgency
By 2022Significant capital already spent on RAAC monitoring and mitigationShows long-term awareness of problem, not sudden crisis

May 2023 | Entry into National Programme

MonthEventSignificance
May 2023Frimley Park Hospital formally enters the New Hospital Programme (NHP)Moves project from local issue to national priority
May–June 2023Initial Strategic Outline Case (SOC) work beginsSOC framework determines what options are considered “credible”

Summer 2023 | Site Search Begins Quietly

MonthEventSignificance
Jun–Aug 2023Specialist land agents instructed to identify potential sites within ~5 milesMarks practical shift away from existing site
Summer 2023Internal longlisting of sites (18 total referenced later)Sets up later claim that “everything was considered”

Editorial note:

No public announcement at this stage that off-site relocation was being actively pursued.

Nov 2023 – Jan 2024 | Public Engagement (Criteria, Not Sites)

MonthEventSignificance
24 Nov 2023Public engagement opensFramed as criteria-setting, not site selection
Nov 2023 – Jan 2024Online survey + listening events3,399 survey responses + ~650 event attendees
Jan 7 2024Engagement closesPublic input gathered before any site named

Key characteristics of engagement:

  • People asked what matters, not where
  • Site discussion explicitly ruled out due to “commercial sensitivity”
  • Heavy emphasis on:
    • car access
    • parking
    • proximity to current hospital
    • public transport

Important omission:

Environmental land loss and green space appear only as secondary concerns, not headline criteria.

January 2024 | Engagement Report Finalised

MonthEventSignificance
Jan 2024DJ’s Research publishes engagement findingsUsed later to justify evaluation criteria
Jan 2024Criteria finalised internallyPublic input now translated into scoring framework

Editorial tension:

Parking and access dominate responses, yet environmental weighting remains unclear.

March 2024 | Leadership Change Announced

MonthEventSignificance
Mar 2024Lance McCarthy appointed incoming CEOLeadership transition during critical decision phase
Apr–Aug 2024Caroline Hutton acts as interim CEOShe is already Senior Responsible Officer for the programme

May 2024 | “Preferred Sites” Language Introduced

MonthEventSignificance
24 May 2024Trust announces it has “a number of preferred sites”First public signal that shortlisting is complete
May 2024Due diligence phase announcedDecision momentum now internal

Editorial note:

Still no site names, but language shifts from exploration to selection.

September 2024 | National Review Clarification

MonthEventSignificance
20 Sep 2024Government confirms RAAC hospitals exempt from NHP reviewRemoves external uncertainty
Sep 2024Trust states programme will “continue as planned”Locks in timeline confidence

Autumn 2024 – Spring 2025 | Existing Site Re-assessed

PeriodEventSignificance
Autumn 2024Independent reassessment of existing site viabilityUsed later to rebut “why not rebuild here?”
Spring 2025Same conclusion reaffirmedExisting site deemed non-viable for full acute rebuild

May 2025 | Strategy Hardening Point

MonthEventSignificance
12 May 2025Trust publishes Strategy to 2030New hospital embedded as settled strategic fact
May 2025Distributed care model formalisedAcute site now only one part of system

Crucial shift:

The hospital is no longer discussed as a proposal — it is assumed.

August 2025 | Independent Viability Review

MonthEventSignificance
Aug 2025NHP commissions independent review of top four sitesTwo criteria “hurdles” removed
Aug 2025Review confirms same preferred siteUsed to reinforce legitimacy

Editorial angle:

Removal of criteria raises questions about what was deprioritised.

Autumn 2025 | Political Tension Escalates

MonthEventSignificance
Oct 2025Existing site reviewed againConclusion unchanged
Dec 10 2025Surrey Heath Borough Council passes resolutionPublic challenge escalates
Dec 22–23 2025Trust publishes formal rebuttal letterNarrative shifts to defensive clarity

December 2025 | Position Fully Hardened

MonthEventSignificance
Dec 2025Trust states decision must be made “this year”Urgency reframed as risk management
Dec 2025Refusal to publish scoring reiteratedCommercial sensitivity cited
Dec 2025Strong language about “misleading narratives”Signals breakdown in consensus

2026 (Planned) | From Debate to Delivery

PeriodPlanned actionImplication
Early 2026SOC approval expectedSite + model effectively locked
2026Outline Business Case + land acquisition casePlanning becomes next battleground
2026Public engagement promisedNow focused on design and mitigation, not location

2027–2029 (Planned) | Build Phase

PeriodPlanned action
2027–28Planning determination
2028–29Full Business Case + construction start
Early 2030sExit from RAAC buildings

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