A new cancer centre is set to be built on the site of a former hospital, which is in the final stages of demolition.

The Royal Liverpool University Hospital's 11-storey ward block has been demolished, with contractors now preparing the site for redevelopment, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group said.

Construction will soon begin on a new podium and entrance to improve access to the new hospital, with work set to be finished in Autumn 2026.

A wider plan for the site includes a Liverpool centre for charity Maggie's, which gives support to cancer patients, which is set to open in 2027, the group said.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, which is run by The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, which provides treatment for cancer patients, is located nearby.

Plans are also under way to build the University of Liverpool's health and life sciences campus – which will house medical, dental and nurse training facilities – on the site.

The hospital, which opened in 1978, was decommissioned when the new hospital opened on the neighbouring site in October 2022.

Chief executive of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, James Sumner, said: "Demolishing the old site in such close proximity to the new Royal and neighbouring buildings has been a complex project and reaching this milestone is a significant achievement."

He said the masterplan for the former hospital's site would be developed with the "health and wellbeing of our patients and local communities at its heart".