Ex-maternity ward set to deliver new homes for Bexley

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans have been revealed to replace a former hospital in Bexley with more than 100 homes.

Bexley council has submitted an application to its planning department to deliver 117 new homes by refurbishing the former Bexley Maternity Hospital building in Erith Road and adding new buildings on the site.

The project would see three new buildings, between four and six storeys tall, being built alongside eight new terraced houses.

Communal gardens are also planned for the site, as well as improved access to the nearby Bursted Woods.

The Art Deco-style hospital building dates back to 1937 and cost £31,000 to build, according to documents from heritage consultants Fuller Long.

The hospital has reportedly been closed since 1978 and has served more recently as offices for the Bexley Clinical Commissioning Group.

Documents said the council undertook a public consultation in June and July last year, with residents in support of the site being redeveloped to improve its overall appearance.

However, concerns were raised on the height of the development, with some suggesting the additional buildings in the project should be shortened.

Bexley council said in response that the site had been allocated in the council’s Local Plan for a potential 180 homes. It said construction had to be carried out vertically to deliver the homes, and that there remained scope to deliver the full 180 units planned in future.

The planning document said: “The heights of the proposed buildings are driven by the requirement to optimise the capacity of the site and make the most efficient use of land.

“Notwithstanding this, the height of each of the blocks sympathetically responds to the site’s immediate context and proximity to neighbouring dwellings.”

Out of the 117 homes proposed in the scheme, 14 per cent would be ‘affordable’. Planning documents said delivering a greater quantity of affordable homes would have been unviable due to market conditions affecting the build cost of the scheme.

The project would see three projecting wings from the main hospital building being knocked down, with the main building being retained.

The GP surgery on the site is intended to remain under the current plans. The practice opened in 1986 and sits to the east of the former maternity building.

Pictured top: Bexley Maternity Hospital was built in the 1930s (Picture: Google Street View)