Defence Online

The proposed residential conversion of a grade II*-listed North Wales psychiatric hospital, which housed about 1,500 patients at its peak, is set to be given the green light.Planning and listed-building applications from the Prince’s Regeneration Trust for The North Wales Hospital in Denbigh will be considered by Denbighshire Council at a meeting.The site is currently subject to a compulsory purchase order process to secure it for the trust from its current owner.The hospital was designed by architect Thomas Fulljames and built between 1844 and 1848. It was originally intended to provide care for between 60 and 200 Welsh-speaking people suffering from mental illness and at its peak in 1956 housed up to 1,500 patients with about 700 staff.The facility was closed in phases between 1987 and 1995 and the first plans for residential conversion were lodged in 1996.In 2008, the main hall was destroyed in a fire, during work to convert it to apartments.Planning permission for the residential conversion, originally granted in 2006, lapsed in 2009. A steering group was set up to preserve the building in 2011 and the council undertook emergency repair works in 2013.The main building is a grade II-listed and many of the surrounding and individual buildings within the grounds are grade II-listed.The property also featured in a series of episodes of Living TV series Most Haunted in 2008 entitled The Village of the Damned.Under the current proposals, the main range of listed buildings on the site would be converted to provide 34 residential apartments and 35,000 sq ft of space for community uses.A number of buildings within the grounds would be demolished to make way for 200 houses and up to 12,000 sq ft of commercial space as part of an enabling development to fund the conversion and restoration of the main properties.Councillors are recommended to grant planning consent when the scheme is discussed on 16 November.This is subject to the signing of a Section 106 order covering the establishment of a group, including the council, to oversee development.Despite the recommendation, the site’s current owner has objected, questioning the viability of the scheme. Concerns have also been raised regarding the impact on transport and services in the area.