Plans for the redevelopment of James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth are advancing as the UK Government’s Hospital 2.0 programme moves further into delivery, with global architecture and design firm Perkins&Will continuing as lead consultant for the replacement healthcare campus.
The project forms part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme. It is among the schemes prioritised for rebuilding due to the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in existing hospital structures. James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust recently confirmed the appointment of Perkins&Will to lead architectural services, contract administration, and multidisciplinary coordination across future RIBA work stages.
James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is delivering the project alongside The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, through a wider programme within the Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group.
Australia-based architecture practice BVN has also joined the wider delivery team to provide design advisory and peer review services, contributing experience from healthcare developments across Australia and Asia.
The replacement hospital is expected to become one of the region’s largest construction projects in decades, bringing long-term employment and investment activity to Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
Hospital 2.0 framework shapes new healthcare campus
The redevelopment has been designed in line with the national New Hospital Programme’s Hospital 2.0 framework, which promotes standardised, modular approaches to healthcare construction through Modern Methods of Construction.
The scheme uses repeatable modular design systems intended to streamline construction while allowing the hospital campus to adapt over time. Perkins&Will stated that the design approach extends beyond modular clinical spaces to include arrival areas, gardens, concourses, and staff environments aimed at improving the overall hospital experience.
The masterplan also outlines a phased healthcare and education campus capable of evolving. While the existing RAAC hospital building will be demolished, several current facilities across the estate are expected to remain, including both recently completed buildings and older structures requiring refurbishment.
Existing and newly built facilities are intended to be connected through a long-term campus framework designed to support future expansion. The masterplan also includes pedestrian-focused public spaces, landscaped arrival areas, and a new public park intended to support both hospital users and future mixed-use development around the campus.
Funding approvals and land acquisition move the project forward
The redevelopment programme reached a key milestone after James Paget Hospital received approval of its Strategic Outline Case from the Department of Health and Social Care Joint Investment Committee as part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme.
Both the James Paget and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn schemes have now entered the Outline Business Case stage, which includes detailed design and costing work for the proposed redevelopments.
The Government had previously allocated between £1bn and £1.5bn for the project under the New Hospital Programme. In April 2025, James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust also completed the purchase of land adjacent to the existing hospital site using £9.8m in funding approved by the Department of Health and Social Care.
The acquired land was identified for enabling works associated with the future redevelopment, including contractor facilities, temporary parking, utilities relocation, sewerage infrastructure, access roads, and the relocation of an existing solar panel array.
Earlier project plans positioned the new hospital to the west of the existing site. The proposed development was outlined at approximately 114,469m2 (1.23 million ft2) with about 600 beds, including single rooms across inpatient wards.
A multidisciplinary team assembled for long-term delivery
Alongside Perkins&Will and BVN, the project team includes engineering and professional services firm WSP, architecture and urban design practice Allies and Morrison, wayfinding specialist Portland Design, industrialisation consultancy Aligned Design Studio, among others.
Construction is expected to begin in 2027-28, with the replacement hospital scheduled to open to patients in 2032-33.