Unanimous approval for redevelopment of Atkinson Morley Hospital site

Published on 2 August 2011

The redevelopment of the former Atkinson Morley Hospital site will see the 10 ha site transformed into a new residential neighbourhood of 79 homes, including new-build houses and flats, as well as the refurbishment and conversion of the existing locally-listed building.

The original building was opened in 1869 as a convalescent hospital and it retained this use until WWII, when it became an internationally recognised neuroscience centre. After it was closed in 2003, the building remained vacant and gradually deteriorating until the site was acquired by Berkeley Homes in April 2010.

The site layout makes the original hospital building the central focus of the development, stripping away unattractive later additions and creating a new entrance courtyard to frame the main frontage to Copse Hill. The interior of the building will be sensitively re-planned to provide a range of apartments, including duplex units taking full advantage of the existing double height windows and another within the former chapel.

A range of new houses and flats, with a variety of sizes and tenures, are arranged around the retained building in the northern part of the site. These help to define a series of character areas, which respond to the distinctive architectural and landscape characteristics of the site such as the adjacent conservation area, the extensive mature trees and the open grassland and woodland areas.

Extensive consultation with local residents and community groups led to widespread support for the design of the development and an emerging strategy for the long term management of the site's open spaces through a community trust.

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