Concern over moves to cancel town's £10m NHS unit

Plans for a £10m same-day surgery unit in Leicestershire look set to be scrapped by NHS bosses due to rising costs and lack of demand, documents show.

The proposed unit was due to be built on Mount Road in Hinckley, replacing the 125-year-old Hinckley and District Hospital, after receiving planning permission from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council last year.

The local integrated care board (ICB) board will meet next week to consider a report which states that projected costs have risen by £2m while current and predicted future demand was not sufficient.

NHS chiefs also said they will need to "consider an alternative plan for the site" if the cancellation is approved.

Plans for the centre were approved in July 2025 despite ongoing concerns about the loss of the of the 125-year-old frontage of the former Hinckley and District Hospital.

Documents seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) show NHS bosses have said the scheme is "no longer viable" due to health leaders finding space for surgeries elsewhere and "cost pressures".

The lack of demand also means the unit would "no longer be an efficient and sustainable use of resources", the documents state, along with issues around demolishing the former hospital, delays in submitting the planning application, cost pressures, and funding set to expire in March.

The day case unit was supposed to cater for 2,000 patients a year – twice the number seen annually at the old hospital – and would have provided breast care, general surgery, gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, pain management, and plastic surgery.

Dr Luke Evans, Conservative MP for Hinckley, called the proposed cancellation of the scheme a "huge concern" and has cited the leaders at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council and the NHS as "significant reasons for delays".

He said he would "continue to hold both to account and look for further solutions" if the project was shelved.

The Lib Dem leader of the council, Stuart Bray, said Hinckley was being "neglected" by the national government and hit out at Dr Evans, saying he was "gaslighting" his constituents.

A spokesperson for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB confirmed the board would discuss the issue next week.

They said: "[The report] proposes to cancel the scheme on the grounds that, eight years since it was originally approved the circumstances and wider context have changed to the extent that the scheme is no longer a viable, efficient or sustainable use of resources.

"Hinckley has seen significant investment in local healthcare services over recent years, particularly with the opening of the new £24.6m community diagnostic centre."

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