Construction of a new £300 million headquarters for Moorfields Eye Hospital has begun.

The hospital is set to relocate from Old Street to the site of St Pancras Hospital near King’s Cross in 2027.

The new centre, part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, will be home to Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Charity.

Work to demolish the existing buildings on the site began at the end of February, and construction of the 10-storey centre began earlier this month.

Dubbed Oriel, the new centre promises to speed up the delivery of high quality treatments and therapies for patients.

Moorfields officially acquired the site from Camden and Islington NHS Foundation at the start of the year, and a £300 million contract to build the new centre was subsequently awarded to construction firm Bouygues UK.

At a breaking ground ceremony on July 11, Moorfields Eye Hospital chief executive Dr Martin Kuper claimed the new centre would support the hospital’s “global reputation for excellence”, allowing it to “deliver outstanding care for all…patients”.

Health minister Lord Markham also attended the ceremony.

He said: “We continue to work closely with the NHS to improve services and Oriel is part of our commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030, which is now expected to be backed by over £20 billion of investment.”