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:

• retail and leisure that support the needs on site
• conference facilities
• health and fitness facilities that support the campus and the wider community
• community facilities and allotment gardens.

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:

• a hierarchy of open space with different characteristics
• total utilisation of the land, with usable, well-designed open space
• a primary green spine and secondary green avenues into the heart of the site
• a primary square in the heart of the site, surrounded by the ICR, The Royal Marsden and businesses creating a busy, dynamic space that encourages collaboration

• a community plaza with retail services and adjacent to community assets
• a square and entrance plaza on the western and north western frontages
• an active boundary of amenity, and recreational space to the east
• space for sport
• space to encourage biodiversity
• walking and cycling routes, with cycling hub

This will be achieved through:

• understanding proximities to neighbours
• respecting scale of surroundings
• respecting the height of the existing and proposed ICR and Royal Marsden buildings
• creating a graduation in height across the site

• higher buildings towards the centre of the site, gathered around the squares
• understanding that different building types will require differing floor-to-floor heights
• adaptability of buildings to the immediate environment, in terms of topography, proximities, use, daylight and sunlight.

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:

• provide public transport access improvements

• separate tram and vehicle access, enhancing journey times and passenger experience
• provide an integrated transport exchange within the site
• minimise land of multiple transport modes operating on the green spine
• provide better pubic transport access around the site
• enable better access to the site from Brighton Road
• create a safe environment that prioritises walking and cycling
• plan a clear structure for servicing, delivery and emergency vehicles
• facilitate a multi-deck parking solution, potentially integrated into the landscape
• limit cars on site through off-street parking and good alternative modes of transport