Redeveloping Tolworth Hospital

Redeveloping Tolworth Hospital

Transforming our environments 

Read a quick overview of our plans for Tolworth

We have a proud history of providing innovative mental health care across South West London. However, our aging estate has brought a number of challenges. 

Until recently, we provided mental health services from facilities at Springfield Hospital that were over 150 years old. Springfield was built in 1840 as one of the first county asylums. Mental health services have also been provided at Tolworth Hospital for decades and many of the buildings there have long been out of use and are unsuitable for modern mental healthcare. 

Through the sale of surplus land not required for our services, and with some additional funding, we are investing nearly £280m through our Better Environments Programme to develop new facilities across Wandsworth, Richmond and Kingston in line with local consultations. Following the £150m  redevelopment of Springfield Hospital  in Wandsworth, the Trust is investing £110m to develop state-of-the art facilities at Tolworth Hospital in Kingston for delivery in 2027. 

Breaking stigma, investing in our future 

In total, our estates transformation is supporting more than £1bn of investment in South West London across healthcare and urban development - boosting our local economy and delivering social, commercial and wellbeing benefits for our communities.

At the same time, this innovative programme is re-imagining a new social landscape for our hospitals. We are working to open up our sites to break mental health stigma and transform the relationships we have with our local communities for the better.

Throughout this journey we have been working hand-in-hand with the people we serve. Co-design, collaboration and engagement with our staff, patients, carers, service users, and wider community have been a central part of creating our new environments. Over the past decade our Better Environments programme has been informed by hundreds of meetings, seminars and workshops with people across our communities. 

Our journey so far

Our plans for Tolworth's redevelopment follow careful consultation with service users, carers and staff, over a number of years.

We have also worked closely with local councillors and community groups as we have progressed on this journey:

  • In 2018 we received approval from Kingston Council to redevelop Tolworth and since then we have taken on board lessons learned at Springfield for the proposed works at Tolworth
  • In 2022 we took the opportunity to revisit the plans, revise and improve them, to ensure we can provide the best possible facilities for our patients, staff and the community — read the revised proposals
  • Changes we are brought forward following this process include:
      • Revising the layout of the new hospital to better reflect the needs of the Trust and the services we provide
      • Amending the appearance of the new hospital building, but retaining the brick-work design approach
      • Removing the two-storey car park and replacing with landscaped ground level parking to achieve a similar number of space
      • Revising the approach to energy, meaning we no longer need the previously approved separate energy centre
      • Retaining the existing Ellis Ward building adjacent to Draycott Road
  • In March 2022 we held public engagement sessions on the revised plans - click on the image at the bottom of this page to to view one of the online sessions.
  • Following this the Trust received full planning approval from Kingston Council on the revised proposals in 2023. 
  • An 'Early Works' programme took place between March 2024 and March 2025 to demolish our old and unused buildings and deliver infrastructure upgrades across the site. 
  • A special 'ground-breaking' ceremony was then held on 25 March 2025 to mark the start of construction on the new hospital building. Staff, patients, carers and stakeholders came together with local leaders from across Kingston and South West London to celebrate the milestone. 
  • Construction is now progressing up to the end of 2027 ready for our new hospital building to open in 2028.

Our plans for 2025

Our plans for 2025

Early works got underway in March 2024 ahead of construction which began in July 2025.

Working with our master developer, STEP (Springfield & Tolworth Estate Partnership), we have removed old and unused buildings at the centre of the site to make way for our new facilities. These are now being built over a period of two and a half years. Upon completion in 2027 they will provide accommodation for five existing wards, four of which will relocate from older facilities at Springfield and one which is already based at Tolworth.

The new facilities will provide first-class environments for mental healthcare, giving people the best chance to recover in the best environments. They will improve the experience of everyone who uses, works or comes into contact with mental health services in South West London, supporting our wider Trust mission, Making Life Better Together.

From 2028 a total of seven wards will be based at Tolworth Hospital. This will enable the Trust to re-balance service provision across South West London, with a similar number of wards operating from our two major inpatient centres, Springfield and Tolworth.

Letter drops

Main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine share monthly letter drops with neighbours along the site boundary with key information on planned works.

Access the latest edition here: December 2025

The latest on site

We are delighted that early works have now been completed at Tolworth. Between March 2024 and March 2025 this included: 

  • Demolition of derelict and unused buildings and structures
  • Installation of hoardings and signage to segregate construction zones
  • Removal of approved redundant trees on Trust property
  • Utilities and roadworks around the site to upgrade wider infrastructure 
  • Changes to parking areas and development of new car parks 

The build programme is now progressing in the centre of the site through to the end of 2027.

Our current approved working hours are: 

  • Monday – Friday: 8am – 6pm
  • Saturdays: 8am – 1pm

Keeping in touch

Throughout the duration of the programme residents will be able to get in touch with us via email at BetterEnvironments@swlstg.nhs.uk. This inbox is monitored 9am - 5pm from Monday to Friday and we aim to provide responses within five working days. 

Please note the any emails sent to this address may be shared with colleagues at our Master Developer STEP, and main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine, to facilitate responses where site management is concerned. Alternatively you can contact the Sir Robert McAlpine team directly at Tolworth@srm.com.

Tolworth site map

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