Chester offices could become mental health hospital

Cygnet Health Care has submitted plans to convert One Lakeside at Chester Business Park into a healthcare facility.

One Lakeside has been vacant since July 2020, with much of its first floor never having been occupied since it was built in 2005 – according to Cygnet.

Converting the office into a mental health hospital would thus bring a vacant building back into use. Cygnet said that the size of the building – it boasts a 136,700 sq ft interior – plus the fact it ­has a ground-floor vault and security doors throughout, made it a perfect spot for a mental health facility.

Plans submitted by Planning Potential include the creation of a 32,100 sq ft pharmacy and a 14,200 sq ft IT and archive facility in the building. There would also be 6,210 sq ft of shared space. Speeds Healthcare is lined up to operate the pharmacy.

The medical part of the hospital would be 84,200 sq ft and would include two psychiatric intensive care wards and one male acute care ward. There would also be a 12-bed ward that could double as a training facility for nurses.

Cygnet said that the mental health hospital would employ around 500 staff. Another 100 jobs would be created during the two-to-three-year construction period.

The project team for the change-of-use application includes I-Transport, JC Consulting, and Base Energy.

You can learn more about the application by searching reference number 24/00096/FUL on Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning portal.