Trespassers will be prosecuted?

English Partnerships (or are they 'Homes & Communities Agency' yet - anyway), the owners of the old St George's Hospital site is suffering another bout of possessiveness.

They have put up 'no trespassing' and 'private property' signs all around the St. George's site, across Cottingwood Common and throughout the Bluebell (Howburn) woods.

Their security guards have been told to forbid dog walkers from the area - though the guards themselves think this is crazy and are on good terms with most of the regular dog walkers.

The people of Morpeth have had access to Cottingwood Common and Bluebell Woods for at least the best part of a century - and we need to get rights of access sorted and confirmed before things go much further.

English Partnerships & St. George's Hospital III

English Partnerships has taken over the St George's Hospital site and intend to bring forward a new planning application for 200 houses and employment provision in February.

The existing planning permission for 150 houses (including re-use of existing buildings) and employment land is apparently not economically viable. Unexpected costs include connection to mains sewage, higher than expected refurbishment costs to existing buildings - and the Borough Council is asking for a higher proportion of affordable housing.

• Of course the Hospital has a private sewage network which might cope with 200 houses - but EP are thinking ahead to Stage 2 of the development which will add a further 250 houses.
• It's a shame too that the NHS Trust has been so strapped for cash over the last ten years or so that they haven't been able to afford even minumum maintenance on the empty buildng - so they've gone to wrack and ruin. A classic case of pennywise, poundfoolish - as in so much of government these days.
• And - emerging Council policy on affordable housing requires 50% of new housing developments to be affordable - so there's some interesting horse-trading to come.

NCC Highways are happy that The Drive is adequate access to the proposed development if the junction onto Whorral Bank is enlarged.

• This will apparently involve widening the junction, putting in a righthand filter and possibly a min-roundabout. It isn't clear yet whether they intend taking a bite out of Tommy's Field, the Easter Field or the garden at the end of Thorp Avenue (or all three).
• It's not clear too that NCC Highways are taking into account traffic flows from whatever development appears on the site of the Mount retirement home - currently being marketed for NCC by DTZ

The new development will probably retain the Tower, Superintendent's House, Chapel and cricket field. English Heritage has said that most of the buildings are of no particular merit and do not rate 'listing'.

The second stage development of 250 houses, a small retail centre and employment provision is planned for the site of the remaining hospital buildings, but this depends on the Northern Link Road (from A1 across Fulbeck and Bluebell Woods to Whorral Bank) being built.

• The road is currently earmarked in a regional funding programme - likely to come forward in the next five years or so. But private sector funding is also required - which would come from this Stage 2 development. And - although NCC have plans for the road - they have not yet even applied for planning permission.

English Partnerships hopes to get an outline planning application for Stage 1 submitted in February, with determination by the Borough Council in May. Then they'll prepare a Development Brief and market the site. They hope to have a developer on site by Aurumn 2009.

• They have shown a willingness to consult - I hope this extends through the pre-application and application process into the preparation of the Development Brief.
• They say that they have no intention of building on the open land (cricket field, common, race course) in either Stage 1 or Stage 2 (and that will probably take us through to about 2015).

English Partnerships & St George's Hospital II

See also post on Sept 30th: I quote from and paraphrase [where the English is too tortuous] the developers' letter....

"English Partnerships is proposing to redevelop the former St. George’s Hospital site [which it has 'inherited' from the Dept for Health]. This site represents an excellent opportunity to provide a sustainable mixed-use redevelopment within Morpeth.

"On behalf of English Partnerships, David Lock Associates are holding a public exhibition about the development process and give an opportunity to local people to influence the redevelopment of St. George’s Hospital.

"The public exhibition will be held at: The Corn Exchange in the Town Hall on Wednesday, 5 December 2007 from 11am - 7pm

"There will also be opportunities during the day for tours of the site at 12 noon & 2 pm (meet on site at Cottage Row, near security compound)."

Stakeholders - like me and other councillors - are invited to an evening presentation with subsequent Answer and Question Time. I'd be happy to receive and suggestions for questions!

St George's, Cottingwood Common - and English Partnerships

I gather that English Partnerships have now taken over the whole St George's Hospital site from the NHS as part of the Government's plan to develop unneeded NHS land.

]My understanding of the planning situation is that there's no chance of development beyond the 150 homes already approved until a new access road is constructed]

English Partnerships seem to be taking their responsibilities for the site seriously - and in the past week or so there has been some friction between security guards and dogwalkers etc on the St George's site. I understand that the site manager for English Partnerships has now been given instructions to allow free access (within reason) to walkers and dog-walkers.

However - it does raise issues about future access to the site. NCC have a webpage showing existing rights of way, but there are a number of footpaths and access points which are not covered by these.

There is a process whereby additional rights of way can be established by groups of people if they can demonstrate that they have used the route for 20 years or more. I'd like people who regularly walk at St George's or on Cottingwood Common to get in touch with me so that we can identify any further rights of way and points of access that need to be defined before English Partnerships get going with development plans.

I've been told that Morpeth Antiquarian Society have registered 'Cottingwood' as a Common - and I'd like to hear more about this.

I'm also aware the the Morpeth Walking Festival will include some walks up onto the Cottingwood site, and that GMDT will soon be issuing walking guides which includes at least one involving the site.

Time for some joined-up thinking....