Pictured above: View of site entrance
West Northamptonshire Development Corporation's planning
committee has approved an application for a landmark building in
Northampton.
The plans are led by St Andrew's Healthcare and will see the
development of a state-of-the-art mental health facility, providing
accommodation for up to 180 residents. The scheme, which will cost
in the region of £50million, will support the creation of
around 260 new jobs.
Located on the site of the former Cliftonville Middle School,
the striking three storey development will be in the style of
classic eighteenth century architecture. The existing St Andrew's
Healthcare campus includes a range of historic, listed buildings
and the new facility has been designed to complement these
surroundings. It will sit alongside the recently completed William
Wake House, a 130 bed mental health centre that has been built in
the style of the original St Andrew's building, which dates back to
the 1830s.
Adrian Arnold, WNDC's Director of Planning Services said: "This
development represents a major investment in Northampton, and will
support the creation of new jobs for local people. It will be a
high quality and tasteful building, supporting St Andrew's
Healthcare to provide important services to the local community."
Professor Philip Sugarman, Chief Executive of St Andrew's
Healthcare says: "It is our ambition to provide mental healthcare
facilities and services that are second to none, both
regionally and nationally. Approval of outline planning permission
to enhance what we can provide at our Northampton site is another
step towards that goal. We can now start detailed work on our
future plans for the site."
A range of psychiatric conditions will be treated at the new
centre, which will comprises four interlinked buildings, including
bedrooms, therapy facilities and offices. The committee's decision
to approve the application is subject to a number of conditions,
including the completion of a section 106 agreement.