Nightingale hospital finally 'rubber stamped' and now being enhanced
Retrospective plans to build the Exeter Nightingale Hospital on the site of the former Homebase store in Sowton have been approved.
Last updated 22nd Sep 2020
The new NHS Nightingale Hospital, which comprises of five wards, each with 24 beds, providing 120 bed spaces in total, was initially designed to cope with a surge of COVID-19 cases.
But with the number of people in the South West having been hospitalised remaining low, it was repurposed for those needing other treatments, particularly cancer testing.
It has begun to take its first patients – and the £23m hospital has been given a new injection of cash to help to clear the backlog of seriously ill people caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
While some forms of development, including ‘the erection of a hospital building’ do not necessitate the submission of a planning application, permitted development rights do not apply if the proposed works involve development within five metres of the boundary of the curtilage.
And due to the limited size of the site, it is necessary for development associated with the temporary hospital to be located within five meters of the boundary and therefore planning permission was required.
The Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust in July submitted their retrospective planning application for the temporary change of use of the site for the Nightingale Hospital, and Exeter City Council planning officers this week, under delegated powers, granting planning permission.
The temporary planning permission means that use of the site must cease on or before September 30, 2022, with the decision notice issued saying that use is unsuitable on a permanent basis in this locality.
In addition to the main hospital building, modular buildings erected around the hospital building within the site, to house other necessary facilities, including the hospital reception, pharmacy, kitchen space, changing rooms, lockers, showers and other facilities, are also included as part of the planning application.
The application had no objectives raised against it, and when it was submitted, the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust said the scheme was seeking to enhance existing vital hospital services to the wider population (social) of the south west of England, providing hospital space and large scale critical care to assist with the outbreak of COVID-19.