by Gerry Braiden© The Herald
Originally published: 08.01.2008

The site of a vacant Victorian hospital which has lain derelict for over a decade will see the development of more than 500 new homes.

Two major housebuilders are to tie up the acquisition of the 40-acre former Ruchill Hospital in Glasgow this month before embarking on the £50m development.

The plans involve the restoration and refurbishment of some key listed buildings on the site of the former infectious diseases hospital, including the landmark A-listed red brick tower which dominates the skyline to the north of the city.

Gladedale and Bellway, the developers behind the plans, have billed it as one of the most significant new housing projects in Glasgow over the next five years with homes for first-time buyers an integral part of the scheme.

Many in the area had hoped that any scheme on the hospital site would have included social accommodation and had mounted a campaign in support of the idea.

However, the rapid escalation of land prices in the Ruchill area has put the development beyond the price range of most of the housing associations.

In the past few years, the district, generally considered one of Glasgow's most deprived areas, has witnessed an upturn in fortunes with some high-profile canalside developments proving popular with buyers, while former industrial sites have also been transformed into housing.

Tenement properties have also been demolished and a social housing rebuilding programme is under way in parts of Ruchill.

A planning application for the project is to be submitted early this year and it is hoped that work will begin on-site in 2009.

Ruchill Hospital, which closed in 1999 and has been marketed by Scottish Enterprise, was opened in 1900 as an infectious disease hospital by Princess Christian, a daughter of Queen Victoria.

It includes 13 listed and one non-listed building.

The Ruchill development will be the third hospital site redevelopment project undertaken by Gladedale in the west of Scotland this year.

The company, which is one of the UK's largest private housebuilders, has also acquired two other landmark sites, Broomhill Hospital in Kirkintilloch and the former Law Hospital near Carluke in Lanarkshire.

The £50m Broomhill scheme will result in the refurbishment of the listed building, which dates back to the late 1800s, to create 13 apartments, while the rest of the site will become more than 180 three, four and five-bedroom family homes.

A planning application for the scheme is imminent and it is hoped work will also start on site in early 2009.

The company has already secured detailed planning permission for a £100m project including 500 homes at the former Law Hospital in Carluke.

The five-year redevelopment plan will see the former hospital, which closed in 2001, replaced with two, three, four and five-bedroom homes, as well as some local shopping facilities, while the developers have expressed a commitment to contributing to a park and ride facility at Carluke railway station.

Work is expected to start on-site by spring.

Crawford Copstick, managing director of Gladedale (Central Scotland) Ltd, said, Ruchill was one of the largest brownfield development sites to become available in Scotland in recent years.

He said: "This is an outstanding regeneration opportunity and our development will play a key role in the continuing revitalisation of this part of North Glasgow. We are committed to maintaining the existing character of these historical developments and at Ruchill Hospital we propose to find a new use for the historic A-listed tower and plan to work with the local community to achieve this."

Ann McKechin, Glasgow North MP, had supported the calls for an element of social housing on the site but said she welcomed progress on the long-time vacant grounds.

She said: "No-one wants the site to remain derelict and I would have wanted social housing here but land prices in part have prevented that happening.

"But I still hope that more land can be unlocked for further social housing developments."