Enabling works at Cambridge hospital, Addenbrookes

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust commissioned extensive archaeological and enabling works to support the development of the New Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) on land which sits adjacent to The Discovery Centre, occupied by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

The site sits within a known archaeological landscape adjacent to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, and because the new hospital design includes a basement and deep pile foundations that penetrate the archaeological horizons, archaeological monitoring and investigations were required as part of the planning conditions.

Our team delivered a 30‑week programme of enabling works to a former disused hardstanding area, preparing the site for construction of the new CCRH. The scope included:

• Site setup, access, hoarding and mobilisation
• Demolition of low‑height brick walls
• Grubbing up and removal of existing services
• Reduce level dig
• Formation of pile mat
• Bulk excavation down to the archaeological horizon (approx. 18,000m³ delivered in phased sections)
• Installation of timber hoarding
• Sheet piling to the north elevation
• Drainage diversions
• Dewatering strategy for enabling works and main scheme

These works ensured the site was fully prepared and compliant ahead of the construction for the new hospital. Following completion of the archaeological dig, the Cambridge Archaeological Unit was given access to the site to carry out further research as part of their work to explore the 2,000‑year history across the area and gain a better understanding of the past local economy. This proved particularly valuable, as the archaeologists uncovered evidence (mainly pottery and animal/human remains) from a rural settlement dating back to the Iron Age and Roman period.

Findings indicated that the site formed part of a wider landscape of small farms and enclosure ditches for livestock, predominantly cattle, along with countryside homes that played a key role in producing food for the wider Cambridgeshire area.