Plans for 106-home health village on Hartlepool hospital land

Local housing provider Thirteen has offered to buy a parcel of surplus land from the hospital trust for a 106-home development off Wells Avenue including family houses, bungalows and independent living apartments.

A consultation event was held at the hospital on Tuesday and a spokesperson for Thirteen said: “This proposed exciting development will offer much needed independent living apartments, homes and bungalows that will help meet the future needs of Hartlepool residents.

“The independent living element, which Thirteen delivers very successfully in other schemes across the Tees Valley, will complement the existing hospital services and help to meet the needs of residents who will benefit from its specialist features.

“It will enable them to lead independent lives while receiving the care and support they need.”

The family homes and bungalows are intended to appeal to people looking to take part in Help To Buy shared ownership schemes and Thirteen believes they will be popular with people who work at the hospital.

Peter Mitchell, director of estates and facilities at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are always looking for innovative ways to provide the best care and support for our local communities.

“In line with recommendations from Sir Robert Naylor’s report, specifically ‘The Opportunity to Release Value from the Estate’, NHS trusts are being actively encouraged to take advantage of such opportunities where surplus land can be sold, particularly for residential development, to bring money back into the trust and maximise the efficiency of the estate as a whole.”

Mr Mitchell added: “The association has a good local reputation as a social landlord, with an excellent track record of providing similar social housing developments which have been extremely successful for both local people and the local health economy.”