A £14.1million investment has taken the project to create the world’s leading cancer hub in Sutton to its next stage.

Sutton Council has bought another 2.23 hectares of land at what will become the London Cancer Hub, doubling the land previously purchased for £14million in 2017.

The hub will be developed on the Sutton site of the Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden, and is ultimately intended to cover 280,000 square metres.

It aims to be a global centre for cancer innovation, and is a partnership between the council, the Institute of Cancer Research, London, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the Mayor of London and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.

The chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, London, professor Paul Workman said: “It’s exciting to reach such an important milestone in creating The London Cancer Hub. Purchasing this new tranche of land now unlocks the site for development, allowing ourselves and the London Borough of Sutton to seek commercial partners with expertise in constructing state-of-the-art life-science parks.

“The London Cancer Hub will be a magnet for the world’s top cancer researchers, clinicians, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and other innovative enterprises working in a virtuous circle.”

A centrepiece ‘Knowledge Centre’ will be one of a series of state-of-the-art academic and commercial buildings to be developed on the newly acquired land, becoming ‘the heart of research, knowledge sharing, commercial innovation, teaching and communication for the London Cancer Hub’.

It will host laboratories, academic and private-sector meeting facilities, public exhibition space and a rooftop viewing gallery.

When the hub eventually opens, it is predicted it will create 13,000 jobs and contribute more than £1billion to the UK economy each year.

Another 1.6 hectares of land on the site was bought in 2015 and will house the new £40million Harris Academy Sutton secondary school, which will move in September 2019 after a year in temporary buildings.

Sutton Council’s leader Ruth Dombey said: “The London Cancer Hub is one of the most exciting projects to be happening nationally, so I am very proud that it is happening here in our borough. Our ambition is that this will become one of the most important sites for cancer research, treatment and diagnosis in the world.”