DPP have secured reserved matters planning permission, on behalf of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, for the replacement Shotley Bridge Hospital in Consett, County Durham
The proposal will replace the ageing healthcare facility at Shotley Bridge with a high quality, fit for purpose new facility that will meet the needs of the local population in North Durham. Government funding has been allocated to the development of this new hospital by 2030, as part of the Government’s levelling up agenda for the North.
The reserved matters application provided details of the proposed community hospital (Shotley Bridge Hospital) relating to layout, scale and appearance, access and landscaping, and followed the outline consent granted for the wider site in February 2020, which was later amended to allow it to be phased in June 2022. The outline consent permitted a range of uses including a community hospital and pharmacy; a sheltered care unit; a residential care unit; a gym and wellbeing centre; a hotel; a public house; a microbrewery; and a vets practice.
DPP provided strategic planning advice from the outset and undertook extensive pre-application discussions with the Local Planning Authority ahead of the formal planning application submission. DPP managed the preparation, submission and management of the reserved matters application and discharged conditions linked to the outline consent. We worked proactively with the Local Planning Authority and consultant team throughout the determination period of the application in order to achieve a recommendation from approval from the local planning authority. Subsequently, the application was unanimously approved at Durham County Council’s strategic planning committee on 7th March 2023.
Speaking about the decision, Jen Patterson, Associate Director at DPP said:
It’s been an absolute pleasure to be involved with this scheme and the team. It is fantastic that Durham’s strategic planning committee voted unanimously to support the scheme and we look forward to seeing the project progress.
Images: Medical Architecture
