Plans to build a new 147-home housing estate from two empty hospital sites outside Stonehouse were approved last night.
Standish House and Westridge Hospital sites in the Stroud district will be converted and refurbished into 48 homes, and a further 99 new-build homes will be constructed.
The Standish Hospital estate at Stonehouse, Stroud, was used in World War One, closed in 2004 with several Grade II listed buildings at risk of falling apart.
Six ward buildings will be saved after district councillors approved the £32million scheme at a development control meeting last night.
Gloucestershire County Council however submitted a late reason for refusal during the meeting which frustrated members, with one branding it “shameful”.
The county council, which is the highways authority, said the development does not “provide safe and sustainable access within the site” and the needs of people with disabilities needing transport would not be catered for.
The authority wanted to add a lay-by, a new footpath and widen one of the roads – but district councillors ignored the request.
The scheme will see the conversion of the Grade II-listed Standish House and its neighbouring stable block together with two Art Deco-style ward buildings.
It will also save the site’s hydrotherapy pool building, which was previously considered for demolition.
Bats which currently live in the blocks will have their habitats retained, and a new lift shaft and ‘bat house’ will be built for the blind mammals within the scheme, a council officer said.
Speaking after the meeting Richard Wilshaw, planning manager with PJ Livesey, said: “We are very pleased to have reached this milestone and we will continue to work with the district council and the community as we bring this important site back into use.”
The decision follows three years of consultation between the council and the developer the PJ Livesey Group. The Group appointed was preferred developer in 2016 by Homes England which currently owns the site.
Adam Frontczak, Specialist in Public Sector Land for Homes England in the South West, said: “We are pleased that planning has been granted for the Standish site.
“This previous hospital site is an example of where Homes England is bringing forward challenging public sector land for new homes with quality design which is sympathetic to the landscape setting.
“We are pleased to be working with PJ Livesey who are an SME housebuilder who specialise in listed building refurbishment in similar settings.”
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