The Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust withheld about £1.4 million from the availability payment of about £3.8 million which was due for payment to the project sponsor of the Peterborough City Hospital PFI in January 2015.

The Trust said that the amount withheld was determined on the basis that the whole of the Trust's site was, for the purposes of the applicable contractual documentation, unavailable for part of the payment period ending on 30 November 2014.

The Trust's assertion is based on certain alleged issues which have been identified as a result of surveys which have been undertaken at the Peterborough City Hospital in respect of the Hospital's fire compartmentation.  The project sponsor does not accept that the site was unavailable, but is currently investigating the issues.

The Trust has also confirmed that it intends to withhold amounts from future service payments until remedial works have been completed and the alleged unavailability has been rectified.

The healthcare campus features: a 612-bed, 22-theatre Major Acute Hospital; a 98-bed Mental Health Unit; a 39-bed City Care Centre; a multi storey car park; helicopter pad; hard and soft landscaping and highway works.

The total project investment was US$565 million.

The Acute Hospital encompasses specialist areas including; a Cancer Centre, Cardiology Centre, a Women's and Children's Unit and Adult and Paediatric Emergency Centres.