Major plans have been revealed for a new private hospital on the site of the old BBC Pebble Mill studios.

Private company CircleHeath wants to create a hospital on part of the old BBC site (below), in Pebble Mill Road, Edgbaston, and has now lodged designs with the city council.

CircleHealth, which is based in London, already operates hospitals in Nottingham, Bath, Reading and Bedfordshire.

It is working with landowner Calthorpe Estates and London architecture firm Bryden Wood on designs (see gallery above) for the new 161,400 sq ft building, which will also contain research and development facilities and accommodation on a four-acre plot.

The building, which at first is expected to have under 100 beds, will reach up to five storeys and split into two parts.

A clinical wing will contain all the medical functions of the hospital, such as the operating theatres, recovery area and diagnostic imaging department, while a hospitality wing will contain a vehicle-free garden area, café, bedrooms and administration offices.

There will also be a 152-space underground car park with bike storage and a second surface-level car park with 115 spaces.

The wider redevelopment of the Pebble Mill estate, following the departure of the BBC in 2004, includes medical and life sciences facilities, a new dental hospital, school of dentistry and a Bupa care home.

CircleHealth originally received planning permission for a development at Pebble Mill in 2009 but this has since lapsed due to economic downturn. It received outline consent for this latest scheme in April 2014.

View of garden elevation of completed hospital
View of garden elevation of completed hospital

The company, which was founded in 2004, said: "We're excited about the new hospital. It will evolve the model of our Bath and Reading hospitals as a high-end, comfortable place to be treated, somewhere that provides the very best care but feels more like a hotel than a hospital.

"With this application, we're moving into the detailed planning and development phase. Over the summer and autumn, we will be talking to local doctors, nurses and NHS partners and giving the public more detail on what services we expect to run. So, watch this space.

"We're delighted to be part of the Pebble Mill development and look forward to expanding the Circle group to Birmingham."

All employees of CircleHeath, from doctors to managers, are partners and co-owners of the business and, after a restructure in December, everyone is now given share options.

Collectively, the staff partnership owns 25 per cent of the whole AIM-listed company and has the right to appoint a director to the board.

Food at the company's Bath and Reading sites is provided by chefs who trained in Michelin-starred restaurants and the company said the focus of the hospitals was on the quality of the experience as well as the care.

Receptionists and caterers are trained in hospitality and staff take photos of each patient when they arrive.

There are also coffee lounges so doctors can greet patients by name in a comfortable space rather than shout out names across a waiting room.

The new Pebble Mill hospital will take a range of NHS, self-paying and privately-insured patients.

No start date has been given for construction work to commence.

BBC Pebble Mill closed in 2004
BBC Pebble Mill closed in 2004