Former Sancta Maria hospital site in the Uplands sold

A FORMER  private hospital in Swansea has been bought by a housing association.

Coastal Housing has acquired the old HMT Sancta Maria Hospital in Uplands and is developing plans for the site. It has applied to Swansea Council to remove 14 trees and shrubs and partially remove another to allow for investigation work to be carried out.

Uplands councillors Peter May and Sandra Joy want Coastal Housing to liaise with local residents about its evolving plans for the Ffynone Road site, which is in the Ffynone and Uplands conservation area, and retain as many trees as possible.

Cllr May said:

“It is appreciated that whilst nobody wants an empty site, any development needs to be sympathetic to residents living in the vicinity. The Sancta Maria site and its various applications have caused a lot of discussion over the years so communication is key here.”

Cllr Joy said she hoped that two houses within the former hospital site can be incorporated into future plans. She added: “We are also keen to preserve as many if not all of the 50 or so trees there. We hope that the developer is sympathetic and keeps us informed of any plans in good time.”

Kelly Thomas, executive director of development and regeneration at Coastal Housing, said it was delighted to have acquired the former hospital for redevelopment.

She said: “Whilst our plans for this location are still being shaped, we need to undertake some site investigation and tree protection works and this requires the removal of around 14 shrubs and trees within the grounds.”

She said Coastal Housing would plant three trees for every one that was removed.

HMT Sancta Maria Hospital has relocated to a new site in Swansea’s SA1. Concerns were raised by Swansea Council’s planning department four years ago that a protected yew tree at the Ffynone Road site had been damaged by a concrete pad that was built for weekly visits by an MRI scanning unit.