We plan to make it easier to move across the site and to access it from surrounding neighbourhoods, by for instance introducing a north-south road and creating clear and intuitive wayfinding.
We will provide a clear logic to the development, while working with the partners’ existing estate plans, and allowing for a variety of building types and sizes.
There are three new strategic links (A,B,C) required to provide structure to the urban planning of the site and sustainable public transport connections. New development should safeguard all three of these strategic links. The framework also establishes three inter-connected public spaces (1,2,3) along these links.
The first link (A) is envisaged as a ‘green spine’ that reinforces the link to the town centre and provides character and logic to The London Cancer Hub site. The second link (B) runs from west to east into the site. A proposed tram route could be integrated into either strategic link A or B. The existing entrance for The Royal Marsden (C) will be maintained. In the event that the main hospital building is redeveloped, there would be an opportunity to provide a strategic link running north-south connecting new hospital buildings to the heart of the site
We plan to make it easier to move across the site and to access it from surrounding neighbourhoods, by for instance introducing a north-south road and creating clear and intuitive wayfinding.
We will provide a clear logic to the development, while working with the partners’ existing estate plans, and allowing for a variety of building types and sizes.
There are three new strategic links (A,B,C) required to provide structure to the urban planning of the site and sustainable public transport connections. New development should safeguard all three of these strategic links. The framework also establishes three inter-connected public spaces (1,2,3) along these links.
The first link (A) is envisaged as a ‘green spine’ that reinforces the link to the town centre and provides character and logic to The London Cancer Hub site. The second link (B) runs from west to east into the site. A proposed tram route could be integrated into either strategic link A or B. The existing entrance for The Royal Marsden (C) will be maintained. In the event that the main hospital building is redeveloped, there would be an opportunity to provide a strategic link running north-south connecting new hospital buildings to the heart of the site
It will support collaboration between the different sectors housed on the site – academic, business, clinical and district (what we call the ABCD components).
Creating a mixed-use site has design implications. Different uses will need to be co-located across the site.
That could be achieved by positioning buildings housing different activities or departments next to each other. The project will also explore the possibility of ‘vertical integration’ – in which different types of activity are housed on different floors of the same building.
On some streets, buildings will have clearly defined entrances and windows to create active frontages. These will primarily be located along the main routes and around the public spaces where footfall from visitors will be greatest. Those shown on the map are illustrative.
Principal buildings within the development may have permeable and potentially open-plan ground floor activities, with access to communal facilities and courtyards. We envisage these amenities will be important gathering places and will facilitate interaction and collaboration between academics, clinicians and entrepreneurs.
We envisage amenities that support the overall vision of The London Cancer Hub to include:
The project will use open spaces, and take advantage of the naturally green surroundings, to produce an attractive site that encourages creative interactions between academics, businesses, clinicians, the school and the general public.
The Development Framework provides:
This will be achieved through:
This diagram shows how the Development Framework allows for the possibility of a tram connection to the existing rail track that links to Sutton town centre and beyond to central London. It can also accommodate the tram entering the site from the north (Brighton Road).
Tram stops are provided in the primary public spaces and another stop is proposed for neighbouring residential properties. The framework also creates a simple bus loop on the site, with the possibility of separate entry and exit points.
Car parking solutions for the site also need to achieve a step change in capacity. A large-scale, multi-deck parking solution could accommodate future growth and reduce surface parking, freeing up space for alternative uses. Consideration will be given to using the natural dip in the topography at the centre of the site to create a car park below ground level.
The Development Framework aims to: