Homes bid at former hospital site

Developers hoping to build houses on the site of the former Victoria Hospital in Lichfield have submitted their plans to the district council.

David Wilson Homes is hoping to get the go-ahead to build 61 homes on the site of the former hospital which was demolished in August 2007 after a campaign to get the building listed status failed. The plans have been criticised by Lichfield City Council which has claimed the plans do not have enough affordable housing and lacks a play area.

Two letters from the public have also been received by the council claiming the affordable housing on the site has been grouped together and the whole development is overcrowded and lacks space.

The letters also question the loss of trees and concern over children playing on the estate.

Outline planning permission was granted for housing on the site in February 2007 but a plan for 68 homes was withdrawn in June this year.

Members of Lichfield Council's planning committee will meet on September 1 to decide whether or not to rubber stamp the plans.

Officers at the council have recommended the plans be approved although details of the development will need to come before councillors again before work can start.

If the development is approved the developers will also have to create a memorial garden to the Victoria Hospital and decontaminate the ground before housing will begin.

They will also have to pay over £200,000 in contribution to Staffordshire County Council's education authority to offset the impact of new families in the area.

In a report to councillors planning officers said they were "satisfied" that the plan should be approved.

The Victoria Hospital site was sold off by health bosses ahead of the opening of the new Samuel Johnson Hospital.