The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) planning application to provide 120 homes on land to the south and east of Milfrod Specialist Rehabilitation Hospital, On Tuesley Lane, has been approved by Waverly’s Joint Planning Committee.

Some of the homes will be refurbished and ten plots are available for self-build.

The land is owned by the HCA and includes surplus land and buildings around the Hospital but the development plans will not affect the hospital itself. Barratt Homes will be the lead developer for the scheme, with Thames Valley Housing Association providing the affordable homes on the site. Barratt will seek detailed planning consent later this year to build 104 new homes on the land in addition to 16 existing properties on the site being refurbished. Ten of these are plots to be made available as ‘Custom Build’ or self-build.


Housing Minister Mark Prisk said: "I'm delighted to see that the green light has been given for the development of the Milford Hospital site, which will deliver over 120 much-needed new and affordable homes for the area. This is an excellent example of how releasing surplus, formerly used public sector land can help to get Britain building, and why we're determined to release enough sites for 100,000 homes by 2015."

The proposed scheme states that high quality architecture is encouraged and a variety of homes will be built including 48 for local people on the Housing Needs Register. The affordable homes which will be located throughout the site will be indistinguishable from the private housing and delivered in partnership with Thames Valley Housing Association. Areas of open space for leisure and play will complement the development. The natural features of the site such as the orchard and ancient woodland are highly valued and will be kept as a feature of the development.

Commenting on the application Cllr Keith Webster, portfolio holder for Housing, said: "We have worked very closely with the HCA to support the delivery of affordable homes on this site. Opportunities to build the number of affordable homes that this area of land can deliver are few and far between in Waverley.

"Recognising the importance of the site, we have worked closely with the local community and spent a lot of time last year consulting with more than 1,000 households on the proposed plans for the future of the land and buildings in Upper Tuesley. I believe that this work has helped us to achieve a proposal that delivers on the development brief to which so many people contributed."

(CR)