PLANS have been submitted for a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital on Longbridge’s former West Works site which would create 150 jobs.
The hospital will feature research, treatment, diagnostic, laboratory and administrative space and have the latest medical equipment including CT and MRI scanners. If approved, building will start next year and completed, ready to welcome its animal patients, in 2023.
Permission for the building is being sought from Birmingham City Council by St Modwen on behalf of veterinary care provider IVC Evidensia which has 21,000 staff across 12 countries, including the UK.
The West Longbridge Business Park site has had £20million worth of infrastructure investment spent on it and when complete will create 5,000 jobs in total.
West Longbridge Business Park is part of a wider regeneration of the former MG Rover West Works following a £6million investment by the West Midlands Combined Authority to unlock the land for development.
As well as the business park a 350-home neighbourhood will also be completed.
With road and rail links, the location offers local, regional and national connectivity.
Elliot Sellars, Development Director at St Modwen, said: “This is a key first element of West Longbridge and will become a real centrepiece for that part of the town.
“It also has the potential to be a real beacon of veterinary excellence in medicine and treatment.
“Its state of the art design and facilities will be a major draw in the veterinary sector and provide new jobs and opportunities for local people.
“We’re continuing discussions with other occupiers as we look to deliver more jobs in Longbridge and establish a high-quality business park.
“Having a new kind of facility like this will help to truly put Longbridge on the map.
“We believe it will be a great asset and boost for the local community and economy, building on the progress and ongoing investment we have already delivered here.”
John Turkington, IVC Evidensia’s head of referrals UK and Ireland, added: “Our new hospital will be one of the leading veterinary facilities in the UK.
“It will have some of the finest 24/7 facilities and embrace the latest technology to deliver the best diagnoses and treatments possible.
“Many of our referral centres are established leaders in their field and our new state-of-the-art hospital in Birmingham which will be staffed with experienced, high-calibre teams, has been designed to enable the best outcomes through working collaboratively in a sustainable rewarding working environment that produces the excellence in client and patient care which we have become known for.”
