An abandoned 205 acre site that housed the Cane Hill mental health hospital is set to be redeveloped into 675 new Croydon homes.

A ground-breaking ceremony took place on the Coulsdon site, which is now to be known as Cane Hill Park on Wednesday July 22.

Construction at the site will begin in September, with new residents planning to move in next spring.

Alison Butler, Croydon Council's cabinet member for homes, regeneration and planning, said: "It will provide hundreds of much-needed homes in the south of our borough and deliver widespread regeneration to Coulsdon town centre."

London’s Deputy Mayor for housing, Richard Blakeway, said: "Cane Hill will make a lasting difference to Croydon and Coulsdon Town, and projects like it are key additions to London’s housing supply."

The homes will be sold in partnership through Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes.

The former claims that of the 675 homes, a quarter of those will be available to those on low income via the Hyde Housing association.

Cane Hill Hospital opened in 1882 but the site has been abandoned since 1991. In the following 25 years several potential redevelopment plans were put forward, including building a new housing estate or converting some of the buildings into a psychiatric hospital.

In 2000, the South London and Maudsley NHS trust intended to build a unit for criminals with mental health problems in Coulsdon.

The proposal sparked massive opposition from the public with more than 5,000 letters sent to the council.

Your Local Guardian:

A huge fire in 2010 caused damage to many of the remaining buildings

In April 2000, thousands of locals took to the streets to protest against the expansion plan. The demonstration was one of the largest seen in Croydon and attracted mass media coverage.

The Cane Hill site is situated within London green belt, a policy used in land planning to preserve areas of agricultural land, which provided additional issues and controversies.

The hospital buildings did not have listed status, which would have provided greater protection, and in 2006 an attempt to list the properties failed.

Your Local Guardian:

By the end of 2010 only the water tower remained on the site

In March 2008, Cane Hill was set to be demolished, and only the chapel, administration building and water tower remained by the end of 2010.

In November that year, a fire swept through the site destroying all but the front facade of the building, leaving the iconic clock tower in ruins.

 

Cane Hill by numbers:
675 - Houses to be built on the site over the next five years – 188 to be built in the first phase.
205 - Acres of land to be developed (more than 100 football pitches).
465 - Construction jobs to be created while the build takes place.
£210m - The estimated total cost of construction.
£1m - Extra council tax revenue generated for the council each year.
£7.2m - Extra estimated to be spent in Coulsdon shops and on local services through increased population.