A new video showing computer-generated images for the “woodland hospital” concept design for the planned new Monklands Hospital has been released by NHS Lanarkshire.
The fly-through animation shows an aerial view of the proposed new £400 million building at Wester Moffat in Airdrie, highlighting its main entrance and emergency department.
It also illustrates the travel links set to be developed to the site, including the East Airdrie link road plus bus drop-offs and extensive car parking.
Health board officials say the “inspirational” and “eye-catching” design video “paints [an] exciting picture of the plans for the new hospital”, which is expected to open around 2028.
Monklands Replacement Project director Graeme Reid said: “It gives the community a fresh view of how the new hospital could look, and as we continue to develop the outline business case, the team are delighted to share this video with the public and our staff.
“The virtual journey around the campus captures the impressive scale of our major project to provide a state-of-the-art new Monklands – which has the ambition to be Scotland’s first digital hospital and the first designed from the outset to be net-zero carbon for its build and operation.”
NHS Lanarkshire’s video begins with an aerial view of the new healthcare village, including an energy centre beside the main hospital building, set among the “picturesque” Wester Moffat woodland.
The site, which is currently farmland, emerged as a potential hospital location in early 2020 following a re-run search for land and was officially confirmed by the Scottish Government as the chosen venue a year later.
Health board officials say: “The ambition for the new Monklands is to be a ‘woodland hospital’ and the expanse of greenery in and around the site is captured in the bird’s-eye view – which also shows an indicative route for the planned link road and the junction from it to the hospital campus.”
The animation moves onto a street-level view showing arrival roads complete with bus links, drop-off area and extensive car parking, plus public spaces and a pedestrian and cycle access route from Drumgelloch station to the west of the site.
It indicates a roundabout within the campus where traffic will divide into separate routes for public and staff vehicles, facilities traffic and emergency vehicles heading directly to the casualty department entrance.
NHS Lanarkshire – who submitted the formal planning application notice for the new hospital to North Lanarkshire Council in February – add: “The parking shown throughout the video, including the depiction of a proposed multi-storey, is illustrative only; the new Monklands will have more parking than the current hospital, with provision to be determined in liaison with [the] planning authority.”
The video can be seen online while further information about the Monklands Replacement Project including additional concept images is available on its dedicated website.
A health board statement added: “The images reflect the reference design for the new hospital, which provides a blueprint for what it will look like and allows the contractors who will bid to build it to understand the requirements; as such, design is subject to change.”
Monklands’ new hospital, one of three acute facilities across Lanarkshire, will replace the existing 40-year-old hospital at Monkscourt Avenue; it will make use of the latest state-of-the-art technology and is to become the county’s centre for planned orthopaedic surgery.
*Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.
