NHS land sale: Dental unit in Lowesmoor, Worcester, could be sold off

Documents detailing NHS plans to sell off surplus land show Worcester Dental Access Centre in Lowesmoor has been deemed surplus to requirements.

It is one of several plots of land that could be sold off in Worcestershire.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust is “actively seeking to dispose” of the vacant Lowesmoor site and expects to raise £210,000 from its sale.

According to the documents, there is 216 sq m of floor space for sale and the trust is not expecting the land to be used for housing.

READ MORE: Stretched Worcestershire GP surgeries hit by rising Covid cases and staff absences

Issues that could “delay disposal” of the site are listed as planning and reprovision of existing facilities.

Another dental unit in Worcester, Moor Street clinic, reopened in December 2021 following a £2 million investment by the trust.

The facility now boasts spacious consultation rooms and specialist equipment including hoists and adapatable chairs.

Land at Evesham Community Hospital could be sold

Land described as part of Evesham Community Hospital is also on the NHS list.

This is a three hectare-plot offering 9,549 sq m of internal floor space.

It is stated that this plot “could be declared surplus by the landowner and disposal strategy developed, subject to identified issues or constraints being resolved”.

Land at Evesham Community Hospital could be sold off

Should the site be declared surplus by the trust it will be sold for housing, with 50 units expected to be built on the land.

The documents say planning, funding and reprovision of existing facilities are issues that could delay the disposal of the site.

What else could be sold by the NHS in Worcestershire?

Also on the list of surplus sites is Ludlow Road Short Breaks Centre in Kidderminster, which is considered surplus by the trust. It is earmarked for housing and could bring in £200,000.

Smallwood House in Redditch, a listed building, could be considered surplus and would be sold for a mix of uses including housing.

Land adjacent to the Keith Winter Close Mental Health Unit in Bromsgrove is no longer surplus.

The old pathology block at Kidderminster Hospital, which is currently vacant, has been sold for housing by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

UPDATE: A spokesperson for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust said the sale of any part of the Evesham Hospital site "is solely dependent on any future scheme to redevelop Evesham Community Hospital, either on the existing site or on a new site".

"While re-developing/re-building Evesham Hospital remains an ambition of the trust, there are currently no agreed plans or timelines for this," they said.