Letter to the Education Secretary: Frimley Park Hospital Rebuild Proposal

Please see the letter and accompanying documents below.

Dr Al Pinkerton MP has written to the new Education Secretary, Lucy Powell, requesting an urgent meeting about the proposed relocation of Frimley Park Hospital to the Frimley Fuel Allotments.

Al fully supports delivering a new hospital for the area. However, he is increasingly concerned about the potential consequences of the proposed location for nearby schools and the thousands of children who attend them.

The Frimley Fuel Allotments is immediately surrounded by six schools attended by more than 3,000 pupils. Reflecting the wider implications for education across Surrey Heath, 20 headteachers and school trust chief executives have issued a joint statement opposing the proposed location.

School leaders have identified four principal concerns:

• Whether the surrounding road network can safely accommodate hospital traffic alongside existing school traffic
• Risks to pupils from increased congestion, construction activity and HGV movements
• The potential effect of longer and less reliable journeys on attendance, punctuality and staffing
• The extent to which schools were involved in the site-selection process

Al has stressed that consultation with schools should help shape decisions rather than take place after they have been made. He has asked the Education Secretary to engage with Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and other partners to ensure that the effects on pupils, families and schools are fully considered before any final decision is taken.

Please see the letter and accompanying documents below.