Businessman calls for Doncaster's Frenchgate shopping centre to be converted into hospital

Stephen Farr has put forward ambitious proposals calling for the city centre mall to be stripped off shops and converted into wards – and has urged the city’s three MPs to get behind the idea.

In a post shared with Doncaster North MP Ed Miliband, Doncaster Central MP Dame Rosie Winterton and Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher he said: “Hey Doncaster, how about this for an idea?

“I keep reading about the need in the city for a new hospital.

“I keep seeing empty shops in the centre of town.

“How about turning the Frenchgate shopping centre into the new hospital? Great transport links - arguably it would become the best access to a hospital in the UK.

“Why not make Doncaster the Hospital City?"

He says that the plan would see the hospital returning to its Frenchgate roots – Doncaster Royal Infirmary started life as the Doncaster Dispensary in French Gate – now Greyfriars Road - in 1792.

Plans for another new hospital came to fruition in 1930, when the first part on Thorne Road – now the West Ward Block - opened to patients. The East Ward Block opened in 1968, the Women’s Hospital in 1969, and the Children’s Hospital in 1989.

He added: “All the shops in Frenchgate could be relocated to the empty properties in the city centre. What do you think?

“I am not an artist but this was my impression of what it could look like.”

Plans for a new hospital to replace Doncaster Royal Infirmary have been in place for a number of years, with a site adjacent to Doncaster College and Holmes Market identified for the £1.4 billion project.

Last month, the Government said there would be no money to build a new hospital in the city until at least 2034 – a move criticised by all three of the city’s MPs.

Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones also condemned the decision which came nearly a year after a new hospital promised by the Government to replace DRI was rejected.

Since the summer of 2019, Doncaster Council and Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Teaching Hospitals Trust have been working on proposals to redevelop the Doncaster Waterfront area adjacent to Doncaster College for a new hospital.

Doncaster Royal Infirmary was initially built in the 1930s, with further development and expansion in the 1960s and 1980s but due to the hospital’s age, there are around 600 outstanding maintenance jobs across DRI’s numerous buildings, with an estimated value of £118 million.

The estimated cost of a new hospital would be around £1.37 billion and would take around five years to complete.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously said that Doncaster was, “very much in the running,” for a new hospital.

And former Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, “I can see a strong case why Doncaster needs to be one of the hospitals we build.”

However, Doncaster was rejected as one of the Government’s 40 planned hospitals.