Accrington hospital demolition approved

Hyndburn Borough Council has approved plans to knock down a derelict historic hospital in Accrington, making way for a new health and care hub.

Victoria Community Hospital was closed down in late 2024 after serving the health needs of the community for 126 years, due to multiple issues with the site that included a collapsing ceiling, broken boilers, and asbestos.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust moved its services out of the Haywood Road hospital over these problems, before working with a variety of organisations from the council to patient groups and MP Sarah Smith to come up with a new future for the site.

Those plans were finally revealed in March of this year, with the former hospital being demolished to make way for a new holistic approach to healthcare in Accrington.

This will involve a focus on older residents and those living with chronic conditions, with the site featuring a new GP surgery, housing for the elderly, a community hub, and specialist spaces for drop-in clinics.

A community-focused future for the Victorian-era hospital was decided by ELHT and Hyndburn Council following extensive consultations, with the trust’s chief executive Martin Hodgson saying in March: “The concerns of the community are clear around us selling the site for private housing or other commercial development.

“I want to categorically rule this out.”

But while these new services will take over the space where the ‘Accy Vic’ once stood, some iconic elements of the old building will be woven into the new health and care hub’s fabric.

That will include some of the building’s facades, as well as plaques, founder stones, and even some of the hospital’s old bricks, which will be salvaged once the structure has been dismantled by construction firm Ring Stones.

With the empty historic healthcare institution facing issues with vandalism and people using the asbestos-ridden site without permission, such as when caravans moved into the site earlier this year, it seems that this demolition is likely to take place soon.

In their application for prior approval to knock the building down and remediate the site, PWA Planning states: “The existing buildings are vacant and have deteriorated significantly, giving rise to health, safety and security concerns, including unauthorised access, vandalism, and the presence of hazardous materials.”

The firm also said: “In addition, the buildings are known to contain hazardous materials, including asbestos, which require controlled removal as part of any demolition process.

“The clearance of the site is therefore necessary to address these risks and secure the site in the short term.”