Redditch Borough Council to decide on homes plan on hospital land

Back in 2020, SevenHomes, the regional housebuilder by SevenCapital Group, acquired the site next to the Alex, named Wire Croft, from the NHS as it was declared as surplus.

The joint outline planning application submitted by SevenHomes and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust is proposing to build 92 homes, featuring a mix of one-bedroom apartments and two, three and four-bedroom houses.

The northern half of the site includes 198 spaces for a staff car park but the loss of the spaces have already been mitigated as a separate approved planning application will lead to the creation of two new car parks on the hospital site.

There are also three empty residential blocks which were constructed in the 1980s when the provision of on-site staff accommodation was a part of hospital operations.

An artist's impression of what the new homes might look like. (Image: SevenHomes.)

A document prepared for the planning committee states: “These apartments have remained unoccupied since June 2013 when these three blocks were decommissioned.

“Following this, they were put on the Department for Health and Social Care Register of surplus land since December 2016.

“Therefore, the loss of the parking spaces and the vacant apartments has no material impact upon the operation of Alexandra Hospital, but in fact would rejuvenate this area of brownfield land to more productive residential use that would include greater landscaping.

“Prior to the submission of this application, the trust identified the whole application site as being surplus to healthcare requirements.

“Furthermore, upon future sale of the proposed residential units and to achieve meaningful benefit for NHS staff locally as part of key worker housing, the applicant is willing to work with the local NHS team to advertise the sale of new homes exclusively to NHS staff for an agreed period prior to the development being made for open market sale.

“This will give local NHS key workers a preferable position for acquiring a new home on the development.”

The proposed access to the site is via Quinneys Lane and the current access road to the visitor and staff car parking areas.

It is recommended that the committee grant planning permission with a series of conditions which include financial contributions to the community including £46,000 highways improvement costs and £40,00 bus stop infrastructure costs.

It so also recommended that the scheme delivers 20 per cent affordable housing.

The plans are set to go before the planning committee next Wednesday (April 19).