The Water Tower on the Selly Oak Hospital site will be retained
The plans are being recommended for approval (PDF) subject to conditions but local Conservative councillor for Bournville, Tim Huxtable, expressed concerns about the extra pressure on local roads from a predicted extra 300 cars during the rush hour.
In his response to the plans he argued for the need for a Park and Ride facility at Bournville Railway Station but had particular concerns about the pressures on local schools saying there is need for a new school given most local schools are already over-subscribed.
The Victorian Society said that the development fails to complement the scale and architectural details of the Bournville Village Conservation Area which borders the site.
The Grade B locally listed buildings on the site which will not be retained are identified as:
- M Block (sited north-west of West Lodge).
- J Block (to the rear of K Block).
- E Block (to the rear of K Block).
- the kitchen part of K Block
- Matrons House (between West Lodge and the Nursing School).
- Doctors Residence (near Willow Road).
- the later addition to Woodlands Nurses Home
14 individual letters of objection were received from surrounding householders along with 123 copies of a standard letter that residents put their name to. Some argued for less housing but the creation of high technology jobs instead to support long term job creation. They also called for more social and affordable housing.
The site has been empty since services were transferred to the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2011.
The planning committee is due to meet at 11am in Committee Rooms 3 and 4 in the Council House, Birmingham.
As a matter of urgency this site should be used primarily for building social housing. Nothing else. JUST SOCIAL HOUSING.
Will Bournville Village Trust be responsible for any of the houses as their waiting list is far too long.
I think its a bad plan. Clearly locally this level of housing cannot be sustained. Also there needs to be more consideration to the social heritage of the site. This site was a former workhouse/cottage home that formed the basis for a hospital and these buildings should be maintained as part of our local social history. Moreover the sites of workhouses and cottage homes are renown for having burials on site; not to mention the countless lives that have been affected on the site itself while it was a hospital. I was born there and many members of my close family passed away while in this building. To me seeing a faceless housing estate on this site is the worst insult you could make to the memories I have.
Finally Bournville is one of the more beautiful and precious area’s of Birmingham thanks to the Bournville trust – ignoring their regulations and hard work to maintain the prestige of the area only serves to add further insult.
I am appalled and dismayed !
How can buildings be demolished if they are listed ! ?
Cannot the outside of the buildings be retained and loft apartments or similar be constructed; surely any architect worth their salt could come up with some good designs. Selly Oak Hospital is a fascinating building and is surely worth retaining in some form or other rather than being completely obliterated.
The buildings are only locally listed – not listed by English Heritage so can be demolished. I was involved as a community in early meetings and to retain some buildings chopped the site up so it became less suitable as a complete development – and a lot of the community reps wanted an overall design not lots of bitty areas.
I think it is a complete and utter disgrace that such a historic part of Birmingham will give way to a ‘modern’ housing estate. I have lived in Selly Oak for 43 years and have always been proud of it’s local heritage. The last thing we need is more housing with the number of ever increasing students in the area. The site will very soon become a student village and the hospital and all its memories will be long forgotten.
The local roads cannot cope with the present traffic levels without the addition of extra cars. Most of the nearby housing are now occupied by students, I feel that this estate will follow the same way. You only need to walk down Heeley/Hubert/Tiverton & Dawlish Roads to see the respect the students have for the area. If initially you put families into the housing, where are the children going to attend school. The present schools cannot cope with the present numbers.