Bids open for next tranche of Whittingham hospital
National agency Homes England is looking for a partner to bring forward the latest phase of development at the 120-acre former Whittingham Asylum site near Preston.
The whole site has outline planning consent for 750 homes, granted last September, and the plot in question spans three acres and is expected to deliver around 30 homes.
Homes England is inviting bids from prospective development partners, with a focus on attracting small-to-medium-sized firms. “The site is in a highly prominent location and so tendered schemes must be of an exceptional design quality,” the agency said in a tweet.
Consultancy JLL’s North of England team is handling the tender process and bids are to be submitted by 15th December.
The plot is the second tranche of land to be released for development at the site of what was once the UK’s largest psychiatric hospital, located near the village of Goosnargh five miles outside Preston.
Housebuilder Barratt Homes is awaiting determination by the local council of a planning application it submitted earlier this year to build 232 homes, representing around one-third of the development opportunity.
The hospital was built in 1873 and grew to host almost 3,000 patients across a range of buildings. The hospital also had its own rail link before it closed in 1995. Homes England acquired the site as part of its 2005 Hospital Sites Programme, and all buildings have now been demolished.
The outline planning application was put together by consultancies Barton Willmore and CampbellReith. Around six acres has been set aside to facilitate the relocation of the Whittingham & Goosnargh Sports & Social Club, and an additional 3.7-acre plot has been earmarked to deliver a primary school.
The rest of the project – including remaining non-hospital buildings such as the grade two-listed St John’s Church – is expected to deliver new housing for the local area. Around 54 acres of the masterplan has been allocated for green space.
The hospital closed in 1995 and has now been demolished
