Mace previously worked on covid-delayed scheme, now due to finish a year later than planned

Arcadis has been appointed to the project and cost manager roles on a half-built cancer research centre in Manchester.

The new 25,000m2 building is already under construction, with a Vinci-led team building the £150m facility on the site of the Paterson building, which suffered fire damage in April 2017.

BDP's proposals to redevelop the site of the Paterson Building at Manchester's Christie Hospital site

The scheme is now expected to finish at the end of next year after covid delayed the job by a year

The 10-storey project is a partnership between The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK.

Mace carried out the original phase of consultancy work on the project.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “As is standard practice with a project such as this, the original appointment for project and cost management was on a stage basis.

“Mace completed the initial stage. Arcadis has been appointed for the next stage of the project.”

The scheme, which was originally due to be finished by the end of this year, is now expected to top out in September and be finished by the end of 2022, with the trust blaming the covid-19 pandemic for the delays.

It is part of a wider cancer research and service campus that includes clinical facilities and the Foster + Partners-designed Maggie’s Centre and will be fully operational in early 2023.

The new research centre, which was designed by BDP, will bring together the largest concentration of specialist scientists, researchers, doctors and nurses in Europe and enable them to collaborate on research and care for cancer patients.

It will also house a centre of excellence for biomarker discovery and includes space for scientists and researchers from the university and the Christie as well as laboratory-based researchers from the trust.

Last January, bosses at a the NHS trust confirmed that Integrated Health Projects (IHP) had replaced Interserve, now renamed Tilbury Douglas, on the £150m job.

While IHP is a joint venture between Sir Robert McAlpine and Vinci, the latter is the only firm working on the Christie building.

It received planning permission in September 2019, while other firms on the project team include Arup, WSP and Turley.