Homes planned for site of 19th century hospital

Plans have been unveiled for a £15m development of new homes on the grounds of a 19th century hospital in the Peak District.The scheme from Cubo Homes will comprise a mix of one- to four-bedroom properties on the land, which includes the former Glossop Workhouse building.Cubo hopes to construct 41 family homes on the 4.2-acre site of Shire Hill Hospital, and will be lodging plans with High Peak Borough Council later this year.The infirmary closed in 2018 when services were transferred to Tameside General, and outline planning permission was allowed for the construction of up to 52 dwellings in September 2022.Constructed in the early 1830s, the Glossop Union Workhouse was set up to provide relief for the poor but conditions were deliberately harsh to ensure only the very desperate applied to enter. An infirmary building was added and extended in 1927 and, during the First World War, beds were set aside for British Military casualties.It became Glossop Public Assistance Institution in 1930 and joined the National Health Service as Shire Hill Hospital in 1948.Chris Heath, managing director of Cube Homes, said: “We will be transforming an abandoned brownfield site into a high-quality housing scheme with public green spaces, which reflects the historic context of the site and also pays tribute to the lives of the people who once lived there and the medical staff who worked in the hospital.”If plans are successful, work is expected to commence on site in early summer 2024 with the first homes ready to occupy by Christmas 2025.