The Christie at Macclesfield will transform cancer care in East Cheshire. It will provide care closer to home for more than 1,500 existing Christie patients a year.

The ambitious new centre will bring together essential cancer services into one purpose-built building. It will deliver local specialist access to: 

  • radiotherapy,
  • chemotherapy,
  • holistic support and information services,
  • outpatient care,
  • palliative care, and
  • a wider range of clinical trials than at present. 

The new facility received planning approval in September. It takes its influence from the sweeping brass cladding that will be familiar to visitors of our Withington site whilst using local stone to ground the new facility in Macclesfield and surrounding area. 

Dr Andrew Sykes, clinical lead for the new centre, said: “We have already heard from hundreds of people who have experienced cancer how much difference the new centre will make. Whilst patients and families are prepared to travel to The Christie in Withington for specialist services, we know that most would prefer to have their care locally where possible. 

“The Christie at Macclesfield will provide the highest standard of cancer care for patients.” 

Many patients from Macclesfield and beyond can spend hours travelling for treatment to The Christie. For radiotherapy, in particular, patients may have to visit The Christie every day for up to 6 weeks.

Plans for The Christie at Macclesfield 

The Christie at Macclesfield will accommodate more than 40,000 patient visits a year. This will be for existing Christie patients from Cheshire, North Staffordshire and the High Peak area of Derbyshire. 

Our ambition is to design the new centre with additional features to support the needs of the local ageing population. This will include extra help for frailer patients to complete their treatment. 

The Christie charity is aiming to raise £23m towards the £26m cost of the new centre. The remaining funding is coming from the NHS. You can donate to support the build of the new Christie cancer care centre on our The Christie at Macclesfield charity page.

Demolition of the existing Millbrook Unit was successfully completed early this year and construction of the new centre started in July 2020.

Despite the ongoing uncertainty with the COVID-19 pandemic, works continue to progress well. The aim is to have the new centre open in late 2021.