Former mental health facility opposite hospital will be turned into flats
A vacant former mental health facility opposite Northampton General Hospital will be converted into 30 flats, after receiving planning permission from the council.
Plans to part demolish and renovate Spring Hill House, Cliftonville, down the road from Northampton's A&E department, were approved by West Northants Council (WNC) at a planning meeting on Thursday, May 9.
The Grade II listed building was previously owned by St Andrews Healthcare and operated as a mental health residential unit for many years. Before that, it was home to the Northampton High School for Girls which added a large two-storey extension to the site in the 1990s.
Applicant LG Properties Limited said the flats conversion will bring the building into "a much needed use providing smaller residential units in a sustainable location".
READ MORE: Northamptonshire council rolls out £2.4m support fund to help vulnerable families pay for essentials
A spokesperson at the committee meeting said: "The proposal incorporates the change of use of a redundant mental health institution. There's no prospect of it being reused for the consented use as it doesn’t comply with the current standards and it has been vacant for a number of years.
"The proposal will reintroduce use to the whole of the site, preserving it for the future."
The site will offer 17 one-bed 'studio' apartments, six one-bedroom flats and seven two-bedroom flats. Planning officers wrote that some flats have a 'slightly contrived layout' and lack natural light or outlook, but the standard is still considered 'acceptable'.
The existing links between the Grade II villa and the more recent extension will be demolished to give more prominence to the listed building. Wall 'barriers' attached to the extension would also be removed to "soften the impact of the former health facility".
In total, 38 parking spaces would be provided for the 30 flats, which falls below the adopted standard requiring 67 spaces, according to plans. However, the highways department raised no objections, citing a 'sustainable location' close to the town centre meaning tenants wouldn't have to rely on private transport.
It also added that many future residents would be expected to be employed at the hospital, given the proximity to the site.
Permission was given by WNC officers and the planning committee, subject to conditions.