Howard Jones, Estates and Facilities Director of the Royal Victoria Hospital Folkestone has signed a deal with Cardy Construction to re-develop the RVH's old buildings into flats, keeping the facade and demolishing the rest.
According to the Land Registry search PDF on the Save Our Royal Victoria Hospital website http://www.sorv.org.uk it looks to me as if there are covenants which prevent the site being demolished and the Folkestone Office (of Lord Radnor's estate) could move in and take it over to stop the development.
I'm puzzled.. why/how does the NHS think it can ignore covenants on land given to Folkestone for a hospital ? Why isn't Lord Radnor (and the Pleydell-Bouverie family) objecting ?
Shepway District Council Planning Department has not yet received a planning application (possibly because bats have been found on the site) but a presentation was given to SDC by Howard Jones some months ago which can be viewed by downloading from http://www.ekhut.nhs.uk/home-page/patients-and-public/our-hospitals/royal-victoria-hospital/
I've been told that I can write a letter objecting to the plans even in advance of the application. I think the unused (old) parts of the hospital should be given back to the Radnor Estate (thus saving NHS £1 million a year on maintenance, heating and lighting of unused buildings) and turned into flats without any demolition, preferably with a percentage of them for NHS workers. The in-patient facility was mothballed years ago but the existing outpatient facilities will be kept in the newer buildings (being refurbed..by Cardy Construction) and a walk-in centre was built a couple of years ago, which will also be retained.
It just seems to me however, that the NHS is trying to make £3.5 million on covenanted land by demolishing Victorian buildings and I want to add my voice to try and stop that.
Any advice please ? I was wondering whether to write to the 9th Earl of Radnor in Wiltshire also ??
According to the Land Registry search PDF on the Save Our Royal Victoria Hospital website http://www.sorv.org.uk it looks to me as if there are covenants which prevent the site being demolished and the Folkestone Office (of Lord Radnor's estate) could move in and take it over to stop the development.
I'm puzzled.. why/how does the NHS think it can ignore covenants on land given to Folkestone for a hospital ? Why isn't Lord Radnor (and the Pleydell-Bouverie family) objecting ?
Shepway District Council Planning Department has not yet received a planning application (possibly because bats have been found on the site) but a presentation was given to SDC by Howard Jones some months ago which can be viewed by downloading from http://www.ekhut.nhs.uk/home-page/patients-and-public/our-hospitals/royal-victoria-hospital/
I've been told that I can write a letter objecting to the plans even in advance of the application. I think the unused (old) parts of the hospital should be given back to the Radnor Estate (thus saving NHS £1 million a year on maintenance, heating and lighting of unused buildings) and turned into flats without any demolition, preferably with a percentage of them for NHS workers. The in-patient facility was mothballed years ago but the existing outpatient facilities will be kept in the newer buildings (being refurbed..by Cardy Construction) and a walk-in centre was built a couple of years ago, which will also be retained.
It just seems to me however, that the NHS is trying to make £3.5 million on covenanted land by demolishing Victorian buildings and I want to add my voice to try and stop that.
Any advice please ? I was wondering whether to write to the 9th Earl of Radnor in Wiltshire also ??