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Plans for a major new research and public engagement centre on the St Mary’s Hospital site in Paddington have been approved by Westminster City Council’s Planning Committee. The planning application will now be referred to the Mayor of London for sign-off.

The Fleming Centre will be the headquarters of the , a joint partnership between ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Healthcare NHS Trust and ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ. It will be the first in a planned global network of centres working to tackle the increasing, global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The Centre has been designed by Stanton Williams and is due to open in 2028, helping to mark the centenary of the discovery of penicillin at St Mary’s Hospital by Sir Alexander Fleming.

, Executive Chair of the Fleming Initiative, said: "Planning permission for the Fleming Centre is a defining moment in our response to one of the great health threats of this century. Almost a hundred years ago, in a modest laboratory at St Mary's, Alexander Fleming opened the antibiotic era. Today, that era is under threat. Antimicrobial resistance already claims more than a million lives a year and risks unwinding a century of medical progress.

“The Fleming Centre is our answer. It will bring scientists, clinicians, patients, policymakers and the public into the same rooms, asking the important questions – part discovery engine, part public square, part living laboratory. Alongside it, St Mary's will grow into a fully integrated campus where clinical care, research, life sciences and education sit side by side.

“That this Centre rises on the very ground where penicillin was discovered is not sentiment. It is intent. Where Fleming began, we begin again – this time, with the world watching."

Establishing the Fleming Centre at the heart of Paddington Life Sciences will provide the ideal environment to enable rapid advances in AMR, as well as connecting its work to opportunities across the broader WestTech London ecosystem. Professor Hugh Brady President of ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ

Professor Tim Orchard, Group Chief Executive of the North West London Acute Provider Group, which includes including ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Healthcare, said: “This is a significant moment for the Fleming Centre and the fight against AMR, which will build on St Mary’s Hospital’s proud history of research, innovation and medical breakthroughs. It also supports our wider plans to redevelop the wider St Mary’s site, bringing new opportunities and investment to the area as part of Paddington Life Sciences.”

, President of ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, said: “It’s encouraging to see the Fleming Initiative take another crucial step on its journey to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

“Establishing the Fleming Centre at the heart of Paddington Life Sciences will provide the ideal environment to enable rapid advances in AMR, as well as connecting its work to opportunities across the broader WestTech London ecosystem.

“The Fleming Initiative embodies the spirit of collaboration which drives ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ, not only between the Fleming’s founding university and NHS partners, but between multiple sectors. This approach will enable the Fleming to bring together expertise from medical and life sciences, policy and public engagement to tackle the growing global health crisis of AMR. We eagerly await the next steps in this journey.”

The six-storey building will combine world-leading scientific research facilities with welcoming spaces for public engagement, including exhibitions and events. The Centre will operate as a living lab, bringing together researchers, clinicians, patients, the public and policymakers to accelerate new approaches to preventing, detecting and treating infections.

“That this Centre rises on the very ground where penicillin was discovered is not sentiment. It is intent. Where Fleming began, we begin again – this time, with the world watching." Professor Lord Ara Darzi Executive Chair of the Fleming Initiative

The project will involve repurposing and significantly extending The Bays, a terrace of nineteenth‑century warehouses along the Grand Union Canal that have been used as office spaces by the Trust. The redevelopment will maintain an important link to the area’s industrial heritage, retain historic features such as the brick shell, warehouse doors and cranes.

At ground-floor level, the retained structure will be opened up to create exhibition spaces and a café, with further exhibition areas incorporated on a new mezzanine. These spaces are designed to place science on show, helping to bridge the public directly with the research taking place within the building.

Above, new laboratory and research facilities, space for clinical trials, collaborative workspaces and convening areas will support the Fleming Initiative’s mission and strengthen the link between research and frontline NHS care.

Designed to meet NHS net zero carbon standards, the Fleming Centre will be a sustainable facility that contributes to the planned full redevelopment of the St Mary’s Hospital site. Public engagement to help shape the design of the wider campus is currently underway.

Matt Tulley, Redevelopment Director at ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ College Healthcare, said: “The approval of the Fleming Centre is a significant milestone for St Mary’s Hospital and the Fleming Initiative, our partnership with ³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ. The Centre will build on the site’s extraordinary history of medical discovery, while creating a modern, inclusive space where research, clinical expertise and public engagement come together to address one of the most pressing health challenges of our time.”

Amit Mulji, Chief Operating Officer at the Fleming Initiative, added: “Securing planning approval for the Fleming Centre is a pivotal step as the Fleming Initiative moves further into its scaling-up phase. It brings us closer to creating the essential infrastructure to enable collaborations that can unlock new ways of tackling antimicrobial resistance, through delivering a hub that is locally rooted and globally connected.”

Stanton Williams, appointed following a Royal Institute of British Architects invited design competition in 2024, led the design of the building. Their plans have drawn on feedback from patients, local communities and staff.

Gavin Henderson, Principal Director, Stanton Williams, said: “We are delighted that The Fleming Centre has received unanimous planning approval. Working on this project of global significance for humanity is a unique privilege. Our radical transformation of these historic warehouses creates a suitably bold identity for the ambitious vision of this important new institution, while retaining a vital link to the community’s past.”

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