Frequently asked questions

What is Oriel? 

Oriel is a joint initiative between Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Charity that will move services from their current premises near Old Street, Islington to a new, integrated centre in St Pancras, Camden. Harnessing the expertise of the three partners under one roof will enable us to deliver the highest-quality eye care, research, and education.  

What is the reason for the move? 

More people are likely to develop eye disease in the future. Our current facilities on City Road and Bath Street in Islington are outdated. The ageing and disjointed infrastructure limits our delivery of exemplary patient care. Integration between research, education and hospital care will enable us to widen our research portfolio and speed up innovation to develop new treatments and therapies faster. A new centre will provide the space and flexibility to meet changing needs in the future. 

How will Oriel benefit patients? 

Our ambition is for Moorfields to remain at the forefront of eye care and clinical research. The new centre will deliver benefits including an enhanced patient experience, more efficient service delivery, support new ways of working and the ability to flex to respond to a changing clinical landscape. Our aim is to support collaborative working between clinicians at Moorfields and researchers at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology under one roof so that treatments and therapies can be developed faster. 

What will the new centre be called? 
The name of the proposed centre has not been decided.  

When will it open? 
We plan to open the new centre in 2027.  

Why can’t you redevelop the existing hospital on City Road? 

We assessed a number of options for improving services and facilities for our patients. A major renovation of City Road was considered but found to be more expensive and disruptive (especially to patients) than building a new centre. Our estimate of costs over the next 60 years shows it would cost less to run a new centre than to maintain the current site.  

Although refurbishments go some way to improving the environment for our patients and staff, they are no substitute for purpose-built facilities that modernise the patient journey and meet the growing demand for eye care services. 

Moorfields received detailed feedback from patients, staff and the public relating to the changes and improvements they would like to see in their experience at Moorfields City Road and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology research facilities. This feedback indicated broad support for the proposal to move services to a new centre.  

Building the new centre is the most cost-effective option that will benefit patients, students, researchers, health professionals and the wider health care system. 

What will happen to the existing City Road and Bath Street sites? 

In December 2021, Derwent London plc were selected as the preferred purchasers of the site. In May 2022, Derwent announced the exchange of conditional contracts for the sale.  

As the developers, Derwent is responsible for plans for the site and has engaged in a public consultation to gather views. Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology will continue to work closely with Islington Council as plans for the site progresses. We encourage everyone to feed into Derwent London’s consultation to help shape plans for the site. 

Why did we choose the site? 

The site is part of London’s ‘Knowledge Quarter,’ which has one of the highest densities of knowledge based, cultural and scientific organisations anywhere in the world. London is also one of the best places to recruit and retain specialists, technicians, researchers and students. The new centre is close to three mainline railway stations (King’s Cross, St Pancras and Euston), making it very accessible to large parts of the UK, as well as six London Underground lines and the Overground. 

Does Oriel have planning permission? 

Yes. Oriel was granted planning permission by the London Borough of Camden in June 2022, and site enabling works began in November 2022. We broke ground on the site in July 2023, this marked the start of construction.  

How is the new centre being funded?  

• proceeds from the sale of the City Road site  

• donors to Moorfields Eye Charity and UCL’s fundraising campaign 

• funds from Research England through the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund  

• central government funding  

• funds from Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL 
   

With inflation at high levels, how will you fund any increased costs? 

Since the full business case was approved, financial pressures have increased. We are monitoring this situation and working with Bouygues UK to deliver the new centre on time and within budget.  

What about the other Moorfields sites across London? 

We will move all services currently at City Road and Bath Street, and their associated staff, to the new centre. This includes all services at Moorfields Eye Hospital, the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre, the clinics on Cayton Street, Moorfields Private and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. No services would remain at the City Road or Bath Street sites. The network of Moorfields services across London and further afield would continue to deliver and develop services for patients, as it does now. We will continue to adapt our wider care network to take advantage of new technology, advances in eye care and the many future opportunities offered by the new centre. 

What will happen to the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre?  

To provide the very best eye care for all patients it is important the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre forms part of the new centre. Therefore, the current services will relocate along with all City Road adult services. . 

How tall is the proposed building?  

The building has two wings embracing a central space, which allows light to reach the centre of the whole building. The south-west wing is seven storeys, and the north wing is ten storeys high. This variation in height is to make sure the building is in keeping with the local area, and not just one big block. 

How sustainable is the proposed building?  

The building is being designed to the highest environmental and wellbeing standards. The design draws inspiration from natural systems to achieve its sustainability objectives. The aim is to create a building that promotes the health and wellbeing of staff, patients and visitors, and achieves near-zero carbon emissions in operation, is air quality positive, and uses resources through applying circular economy principles.  

Will there be publicly accessible amenities?  

The ground floor of the atrium will be a new public space for the city, with café and education areas, art and exhibition spaces and displays showcasing the science and research carried out within the building. This space will be open from 7am to 7pm.  

What about the heritage of the St Pancras area?  
All of the buildings that define the area have distinct architectural characteristics from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, this creates a rich and diverse character. These include the King’s Cross Station (19th C), Camden Town Hall and the British Library (20th C) and St Pancras Station (21st C).  

We have been mindful of our setting and context in developing the designs for Oriel. We believe the new centre will be a positive addition to this varied area, adding a further layer of history.  

How will you preserve the historical legacy of Moorfields in the new centre? 

We know patients and staff have formed a strong bond with Moorfields over the years. There will be a dedicated exhibition space on the ground floor to celebrate Moorfields’ long and proud history. We intend to use part of this space to help preserve memories of Moorfields and tell the story of the eye hospital’s evolution.

Will there be parking?  
In line with the London Borough of Camden’s policy on parking and the highly accessible location of the site, the new centre will not have car parking, there will be a patient drop-off area. We do not have parking at City Road. 

Will there be bicycle parking?  
There will be public spaces to lock up bikes; and dedicated secure bike storage for staff. In addition to cycle parking, there are two cycle docking stations within a short walk of the site, one on Royal College Street outside the Royal Veterinary College and one on Pancras Road outside St Pancras International station.  

How will you ensure the new centre is accessible for patients?   
We have developed an external wayfinding strategy in partnership with inclusive design experts, transport authorities, local authorities, patients and sight loss organisations.  

In 2022 we conducted extensive stakeholder engagement for the ‘last half mile’, the journey from nearby public transport services to the new centre. King’s Cross St Pancras was identified as the most accessible route because it has step free access and is connected with many other transport services. A green line from King’s Cross St Pancras station to the lower ground floor entrance of the new centre on St Pancras Way was recommended. This work was led by inclusive design experts Buro Happold in collaboration with the Oriel patient advisory group. 

This summer we have developed an external wayfinding strategy, this is part of our section 106 agreement obligations under the planning permission granted by Camden Council. We set up a coalition working group of people who are sight loss experts or have lived experience of sight loss, along with Buro Happold and transport experts CPC. The coalition have helped us shape this important strategy so we ensure our patients can travel safely to and from the centre from nearby transport links.  

In August this year we received almost 500 responses from patients at City Road to a travel survey seeking to understand how they plan to travel to the new centre when it opens in 2027. 

We have also held discussions with transport stakeholders including Transport for London, HS1 and Network Rail about how they can support our external wayfinding strategy. 

Will there be a patient drop-off point?  
Yes, this will be located on St Pancras Way.