Plans for a new 54-bed NHS adult inpatient secure mental health unit in Stevenage have hit the buffers after funding for the project was not awarded through the national New Hospital Programme.
The Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust had intended to build the facility on land east of the A602 and south of Graveley Road, close to Lister Hospital.
The NHS had "identified an acute need for the facility," the planning application says, and the new unit would "increase bed provision to address ongoing bed pressures and reduce need for out-of-Trust beds".
Planning permission for the project was granted by Stevenage Borough Council in July 2022, but the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust has failed to secure funding for it through the New Hospital Programme.
The 7.26-acre site intended for the new unit is now up for sale, marketed as a "healthcare development opportunity".
A spokesperson for the NHS trust explained: "The trust has had plans in place for the development of a mental health inpatient unit in Stevenage since 2019.
"The planning process is one step in this journey, however, as the trust was unsuccessful in being awarded funding from the national New Hospital Programme.
"It is now working on alternative opportunities with the Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Board."
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