INCREASED construction costs and higher inflation rates have left the a gap in the budget for a new link road from the A338 Spur Road to Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

BCP Council is required to build the road to provide controlled access to the hospital for staff and service vehicles, including ambulances.

This was included as a requirement of selling part of the Wessex Fields site, which sits between the dual carriageway and the hospital, to University Hospitals Dorset NHS Trust last year.

The link road is described as an “essential part” of the trust’s £250million investment in transformation, which is currently aiming for completion by 2026.

At Royal Bournemouth Hospital this includes extensive refurbishments, and the new purpose-built Births, Emergency and Critical care and children’s health building and pathology hub, which are both currently under construction.

A report to Wednesday’s BCP Council cabinet meeting is asking members to recommend that full council approves the budget increase, which is only stated in a confidential paper, and source this from the council’s futures fund.

It says the budget set in February 2021 was reviewed and officers were satisfied it was sufficient to deliver the link road.

Referencing the preferred option for the road, the report says: “The benefits of this design option means that wider site access is facilitated releasing developable land parcels at higher land values, due to the underlying highway infrastructure being in situ.

“However, due to an increase in construction costs as the road is designed to an adoptable standard, plus much higher inflation levels within the construction sector, the costs have increased above the allocated budget.”

The council will enter a development management agreement with the hospitals trust to design, secure planning and construct the road, either by direct procurement or via sub-contractors with the council meeting the costs.

Meanwhile, the use of the wider Wessex Fields land, which is a key council development site, is being looked into by the local authority’s urban regeneration company Future Places.

The company has already engaged with stakeholders including Friends of the Elderly Nursing Home and University Hospitals Dorset. Future Places will be hosting a design charette in October with the main landowners.

The report says: “Following this intensive design charette period it is anticipated that a reference masterplan will be formulated and agreed by the end of 2022 enabling completion of a detailed masterplan by Summer 2023.

“Once the uses, energy and infrastructure needs are identified, along with an indicative timeline, transport colleagues can consider the position with Western Gateway Strategic Transport plan for potential funding support for the 2025 to 2050 period.”