Bid to rescue old Ramsbottom hospital building (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Bid to rescue old Ramsbottom hospital building

4:21pm Thursday 14th March 2013 in News

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Ramsbottom Cottage Hospital from the bulldozers say part of the town’s history will be destroyed if the building disappears to make way for housing.

They want Bury Concil to reject an application to knock down the Victorian hospital and build houses at the site in Nuttall Lane.

The application from Arley Homes North West will be considered by the committee next Tuesday.

Ramsbottom Cottage Hospital was built in 1898 and served the community for 110 years before shutting in 200. Now NHS Bury has agreed to a conditional sale of the 1.34 acre site.

At a meeting in Rams-bottom, attended by 40 residents and repres-entatives of the town’s heritage society, concern was expressed that the decision is being “pre-empted” as tree clearance has already been carried out at the site.

The meeting voted to oppose the plans because of the quality of the building, its historical and social importance to Ramsbottom and because most of the site is green field.

Campaigners say the hospital has a striking frontage with a finely carved date stone, a weather vane, a time capsule underneath the found-ations and several distinctive stained glass windows.

Society members have asked that if the application is approved, con-ditions should be added to allow the building’s main features to be moved, either to the new development or elsewhere in the town. Nearby resident and heritage society member Kate Slingsby said: “We don’t want the building to be lost, but to be used again, possibly for residences or some other use for the community.”

An NHS spokesman said there were no tree preservation orders at the site.

She added: “NHS Bury granted permission to the proposed developer to remove trees from the site earlier this year.”

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