Royal Liverpool Hospital

THE new £451m Royal Liverpool Hospital will be built after the Con-Lib government lifted its block on the badly- needed scheme – just days after warning of a long delay before any decision was made.

The go-ahead came as a string of other Merseyside projects – including the Edge Lane/Eastern Approaches and the Bidston Moss Viaduct – were also cleared to proceed.

But there was fury when ministers announced they were scrapping free swimming for children and pensioners as part of £2bn of immediate cuts. Charges will be reintroduced for the school summer holidays.

Luciana Berger, the Wavertree MP, summed up the relief of Liverpool MPs that the new Royal will be built, after six weeks of uncertainty. The backbencher stressed that the decision was also a big boost to medical research in the city, because the project would bring together vital work with Liverpool University under one roof.

And she said: “I’m absolutely delighted that the Government is honouring Labour’s commitment to the vital rebuilding of the Royal Liverpool Hospital.

“The existing hospital was designed in the 1960s, built in the 1970s and doesn’t comply with fire regulations. Patients deserve to be treated, and staff deserve to work, in conditions fit for the 21st century.”