Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust are putting the site of the former Dartmouth and Kingswear Community Hospital for sale on the open market.
While the community bid to buy and redevelop may still be viable, it has been affected by significant delays in raising the requisite finance, which has not been achieved within the agreed timelines.
The former hospital site, which is no longer needed for healthcare, needs to be sold to help fund the recently opened £5.4million health and wellbeing centre at the top of the town. This is replacing the current GP facilities and Dartmouth Clinic and includes space for community nurses, therapists, social care workers, as well as Dartmouth Caring and a pharmacy. The new centre supports a much more joined-up approach to health and wellbeing services for local people in state-of-the-art, purpose-designed facilities.
Sir Richard Ibbotson, Chairman, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We recognise that the former hospital has been a focal point within the town for many years. We now need to dispose of the hospital site and are hopeful that a viable bid will come forward through the open market. Importantly, this does not preclude the sale to Dartmouth Town Council, which remains a unique and innovative community bid.”
Liz Davenport, Chief Executive of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, added: “We would like to thank Dartmouth Town Council for working with us over the past eighteen months to explore the viability of a community bid. We have always been clear that if a community bid proved to be impossible we would move to selling the site on the open market, in line with the NHS Estate Code.
Cllr Ged Yardy, Dartmouth Town Council, said: “Following the turmoil in the financial markets in late 2022, we became aware of changing circumstances of our development partner, who has been working diligently to secure alternative sources of funding, but has been unable to do so thus far. Therefore, we respect the Trust’s need to offer the site to the open market, but will continue to work closely with the Trust to either acquire the site or ensure the Dartmouth community still receives its fair social value from the sale. I wish to thank everyone involved for their efforts to make this work.”
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