A prospective health impact assessment of the international astronomy and space exploration centre.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Assess the potential health impacts of the proposed International Astronomy and Space Exploration Centre on the population of New Wallasey. Contribute to the piloting of health impact assessment methods. DESIGN Prospective health impact assessment involving brainstorming sessions and individual interviews with key informants and a literature review. SETTING New Wallasey Single Regeneration Budget 4 area. PARTICIPANTS Key stakeholders including local residents' groups selected through purposeful snowball sampling. MAIN RESULTS Recommendations are made that cover issues around: transport and traffic; civic design; security; public safety, employment and training. CONCLUSIONS Health impact assessment is a useful pragmatic tool for facilitating wide consultation. In particular engaging the local population in the early planning stages of a proposed development, and assisting in highlighting changes to maximise the positive health influences on affected communities.