PLANS have been submitted to demolish a derelict community hospital controversially closed almost ten years ago and build 54 homes in its place.

Homelands Hospital was built in Helmington Row in 1903 to treat patients with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and typhus, with doctors believing that breathing fresh countryside air would help cure their conditions.

It later became a hospital for the elderly, infirm and mentally ill before it was closed in 2004 despite a campaign calling for it to be saved by local residents and councillors.

Now Gleeson Homes and Regeneration has applied to Durham County Council for permission to knock down the derelict hospital and build 54 new homes on top of the hill between Willington and Crook.

In a statement to the council’s planning department, Chris Dodds from Gleeson Homes said the new houses would be a mixture of two, three and four bedroom semi-detached and detached dwellings.

He also said each house would have a minimum of two off-street parking places, which is above the council’s guidelines for new properties which say each house must provide at least 1.5 parking spaces.

Since the hospital was closed it has become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and vandalism, the report claims.

Mr Dodds said: “The buildings on site are often vandalised and there is currently an issue with break-ins and theft from the site.”

Existing trees are to be retained under the plans and the homes are classed as low cost to reflect the local need.

Homelands was closed in December, 2004, as health bosses said it was no longer fit for purpose and would need considerable investment to bring it back to a usable standard.

Campaigners opposed the closure however saying the hospital was a vital medical service for the area’s elderly residents.

It was deliberately built in an isolated position for its first patients who suffered from a variety of fevers and infectious diseases.

A decision on the planning application is expected to be made by a committee of councillors at a meeting in July.

For more information on the plan or to comment, visit durham.gov.uk.

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