The London Cancer Hub is already Europe's leading cancer research district and has the potential to become the global centre of innovation in cancer research and drug discovery. The Council is working in partnership with the Institute of Cancer Research, the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Harris Academy Sutton to develop a 5-hectare site.
This world-class opportunity could generate c.100,000 sqm of laboratories, business and academic buildings, amenity facilities and hotel accommodation, set within an outstanding public realm.
Completed on-site to date includes Harris Academy Sutton, an award-winning STEM specialist secondary school (2019) built to Passivhaus standards, the pioneering Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery by the ICR (2020); and the Innovation Gateway incubator hub (2021).
The Council has big plans to create a vibrant and sustainable town centre with outstanding culture, food, shopping, modern flexible working and over 3,000 new homes.
Already recognised as a metropolitan and diverse town centre, all upcoming developments will further cement this. Set to open in 2023, Throwley Yard is a new cultural venue set in a former nightclub; and Oru Sutton, a new space for co-working, wellbeing and hospitality, will be breathing life into a disused department store.
Having secured £11.35m from the Future High Streets Fund, the Council is set to announce more projects to transform the town centre, cultivate local culture and boost Sutton’s economic recovery from Covid-19 next year.
Published in 2016, the Sutton Town Masterplan allocated 45 sites for redevelopment. The masterplan has acted as a catalyst for development with 950 homes already delivered and a number of major schemes in the pipeline.
The Council acquired the St Nicholas Shopping Centre in Sutton Town Centre in 2021. This creates an opportunity for the Council to lead the regeneration of this 4.7 acre site at the heart of the high street, to create high-quality retail, leisure and restaurant space, a new civic centre with a shared front door for public services, first-rate college and library facilities and new homes. Moving the Civic Centre onto the High Street will create further regeneration opportunities for town centre uses and homes on the current Civic Centre site and associated car park and the former Secombe Theatre building. The Council will be seeking a development partner in Summer 2023 to take forward this large-scale programme and help Sutton Council deliver its ambitious plans for the town centre.
Positioned between Heathrow and Gatwick airports, and less than 30 minutes away from central London by rail, Sutton is helping to create the opportunities that will protect and advance London’s competitiveness within global markets. Sutton is the ideal focus for London’s growth. It is home to one of the UK’s most significant regeneration projects, the London Cancer Hub, along with some of the best schools in the country and award-winning green spaces. The Council has significant town centre assets, and is developing these to activate vacant space and diversify uses to create a thriving town centre. This is being delivered as part of a holistic town centre regeneration plan to unlock development opportunities.
Population projections 2021 209,639
Population projections 2050 220,148 (2043)
London plan new homes (ten-year target) 4,690
Building council homes for Londoners (four-year programme) 81
Amanda Cherrington, Head of Economic Renewal and Regeneration
amanda.cherrington@sutton.gov.uk
“We’ve got big plans for Sutton as we continue our journey of recovery from the pandemic. We’re transforming Sutton Town Centre into a green and vibrant destination with great culture, food, shopping and modern flexible working. In the London Cancer Hub we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a world leading life-science district that will accelerate the fight against cancer. Across the borough we’re helping local people gain the right skills to access new jobs, so our economy will recover and people will have fairer and better opportunities than before. And we’re working towards a carbon-neutral Sutton by putting sustainability at the heart of our plans. We have a strong track record of working closely with developers and partners and we look forward to welcoming new businesses into the borough.”
Cllr Ruth Dombey, Leader of Sutton Council