Housing slump deals blow to Welsh scheme

Plans to develop 280 homes in a listed former psychiatric hospital in Denbigh, North Wales, have been ditched because of the housing slump.

The falling housing market has forced owner Freemont (Denbigh) to reconsider its scheme for the listed building, which was also to include office space and community facilities, because it is no longer viable.

Planning approval for the mixed-use development at North Wales Hospital was given two years ago and Welsh historic monuments body Cadw had already approved plans for the demolition of some listed buildings.

However, a financial appraisal commissioned by the firm has since concluded that the deterioration in the housing market has reached the point where the scheme is no longer viable in its planned form.

Freemont (Denbigh) is still keen to develop the hospital in some way, and is in talks with Denbighshire council about alternative options. Preparation work is understood to be taking place on the site.

At another Welsh hospital site, plans for a £31m upgrade of the existing hospital have been approved by the assembly government.

Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth is set to gain a new three-storey building to house an expanded accident and emergency department and three operating theatres. Existing wards, including the maternity unit, are to undergo a major refurbishment.

The Hywel Dda Trust must now complete the final stage of a three-phase planning process before development work can start.

The Bronglais Hospital, which is the only district general hospital in mid Wales, already opened a £2m new cardiac unit in February.