TOWN councillors in Dartmouth are working to ensure that money made from the sale of the former Dartmouth and Kingswear Community Hospital will be available to benefit the people of the town to maximum effect.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust are putting the site for sale on the open market after a community bid to buy the hospital did not materialise.

Dartmouth Town Council had been working with the trust over the past 18 months to explore the viability of a community bid but sources of funding have not come forward.

The old part of the hospital was given to the town in perpetuity and accounts for about 16% of the site.

Dave Cawley, a former deputy mayor of Dartmouth, said it was fundamental now, that although the town council was no longer involved in the sale of the site, the money made from the old part of the hospital must be secured for a use requested by the people of the town namely affordable housing.

While the community bid to buy and redevelop the site may still be viable, it has been affected by significant delays in raising the requisite finance, which has not been achieved within the agreed timelines, said the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust this week.

The former hospital site needs to be sold to help fund the recently opened £5.4-million health and wellbeing centre at the top of the town. This is replacing the current GP facilities and Dartmouth Clinic and includes space for community nurses, therapists, social care workers, as well as Dartmouth Caring and a pharmacy. 

The new centre supports a much more joined-up approach to health and wellbeing services for local people in state-of-the-art, purpose-designed facilities, said the Trust.

Sir Richard Ibbotson, Chairman, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We recognise that the former hospital has been a focal point within the town for many years. We now need to dispose of the hospital site and are hopeful that a viable bid will come forward through the open market. Importantly, this does not preclude the sale to Dartmouth Town Council, which remains a unique and innovative community bid.”

Liz Davenport, Chief Executive of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, added: “We would like to thank Dartmouth Town Council for working with us over the past eighteen months to explore the viability of a community bid. We have always been clear that if a community bid proved to be impossible we would move to selling the site on the open market, in line with the NHS Estate Code.

Cllr Ged Yardy, Dartmouth Town Council, said: “Following the turmoil in the financial markets in late 2022, we became aware of changing circumstances of our development partner, who has been working diligently to secure alternative sources of funding, but has been unable to do so thus far. Therefore, we respect the Trust’s need to offer the site to the open market, but will continue to work closely with the Trust to either acquire the site or ensure the Dartmouth community still receives its fair social value from the sale. I wish to thank everyone involved for their efforts to make this work.”

Dave Cawley said the new health and wellbeing centre was not providing a minor injuries unit, X-rays or patient beds and so the loss of the hospital to the community was still significant.

He said top of a survey among residents asking what facilities they would like to be considered as part of the development plans were homes for key workers and affordable rental homes for local people.

He said the site was likely to be sold for luxury flats or a boutique hotel but it was vital that the cash from 16% of it — the part left in perpetuity for the town residents — was used to provide homes for local people elsewhere in the town. He said the site needed to get a maximum return to boost the community fund