Hospital site plan gets green light
Plans for the radical redesign of the dilapidated St Edmund's Hospital site in the centre of Northampton have been approved, despite claims they look like children's drawings.
The hospital site, in Wellingborough Road, has been disused since it was closed by the National Health Service in 1999.
Work to redevelop the area, including the former workhouse at the centre of the site, originally began in 2004, but it was delayed because of what the developers described as the "complexities of the planning system."
The new scheme for the area would see a retirement village built behind the 173-year-old former workhouse, with the workhouse itself converted into offices and new shops built nearby.
But members of the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation's (WNDC) planning committee for Northampton described parts of the plans as being "childlike".
Committee member, Councillor Penny Flavell (Con, St Crispin) said: "This is a main gateway entrance to the town and I can't see anything attractive in the plans, apart from the old workhouse.
"The new shops in Wellingborough Road look like a kiddie has drawn them and I just don't think they're attractive enough for Northampton.
"It's wonderful there's going to be a new development, but I just don't think it's good enough."
Her concerns about the appearance of the new buildings were backed by other committee members.
Design expert John Weir said: "I think we should welcome this development, because this area has been an eyesore in Northampton for years. But it doesn't look particularly exciting or invigorating."
Councillor Sandra Barnes (Con, Tove) added: "It's high time something happened on that site, but I think it could have been a little more adventurous and I must say I'm disappointed."
Despite their concerns about the design of the new development, the committee unanimously agreed to grant planning permission.
Northampton-based developers Rochmills, who own the site, now hope to have the development work completed within the next two years.
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Tributes paid to Niamh Curry as brave five-year-old loses battle against cancer
- BREAKING NEWS: Pensioner dies after collision at Northampton shopping centre
- Man tied to tree and beaten on Northampton Racecourse
- BREAKING NEWS: Woman’s body found after ‘suicide’ in Northampton hotel room
- BREAKING NEWS: Seven-year-old boy dies following house fire in Northamptonshire
- Northampton binmen at ‘breaking point’
- Staff strike at Northampton school over academy plans forces closure
- Saints’ stadium plans get support as long as traffic issues solved
- Eastern European pupils helping school standards across Northampton
- Exclusive: PM David Cameron says Northamptonshire Police Commissioner role is “a big job for a big local figure”
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
