Designed by AFL Architects, the plans for The Christie at Macclesfield were approved by East Cheshire Council last September.

Galliford Try cleared the site in February, just weeks before the COVID-19 lockdown.

Barnsley-based Cidon is on board for foundations and concrete frame while Morecambe-based M&E contractor Bowker will deliver building services

The Christie at Macclesfield will transform cancer care in Cheshire, the High Peak area of Derbyshire and parts of North Staffordshire, providing care closer to home for more than 1,500 existing Christie patients a year.

It will bring together essential cancer services into one purpose-built centre delivering local specialist access to radiotherapy, chemotherapy, holistic support and information services, outpatient care, palliative care and a wider range of clinical trials.

Planning for the new centre has taken into account East Cheshire’s ageing population and the predicted increase in demand for specialist cancer services in future years.

Work on the cancer centre is expected to be completed by the end of 2021, ready for patients in 2022.