THE redevelopment of remaining parts of the Frenchay Hospital site has been finalised including the refurbishment of a treasured Georgian manor house.

Frenchay Residents’ Association has safeguarded 23 acres of land as a village green and supported the sale of Frenchay Park House, formerly home to North Bristol NHS Trust’s headquarters, to local property developer Andy Cake who plans to live in the sprawling building returning it to a private house for the first time in nearly a century.

On Monday (November 30) chairman of the residents’ association Alan Jocelyn and long-term Frenchay resident and campaigner Bob Woodward, signed a deed of variation in one of the final legal moves in a process which has taken 20 months to complete.

Mr Woodward, whose involvement with the hospital site stems from his founding of international charity CLIC Sargent, said at the celebration event: “This is a very historic day.

“Nothing gives me greater joy than to think this house is going to come back into private residential use. When we asked members of Frenchay Residents’ Association for their thoughts on the project we were particularly thrilled to see 97 per cent in favour.”

Mr Cake and his daughter Charlotte Alsopp plan to renovate the 110-room house, which has been empty for six months, and return it to a family home which four generations of their family will live in.

Charlotte, who will live in the house with her husband and three children, said: “We are not going to turn it into individual flats but will have individual parts and communal areas.

“We will have two kitchens and a games room in the middle and we will be starting work on December 7 and plan to move in as soon as possible.”

Retired builder Mr Cake said: “We all get on reasonably well.

“It has been a very competitive process from the bidding and interviews to event buy the property.

“It is an achievement getting this far.”

To allow the sale to go ahead, Frenchay Residents’ Association agreed to relax boundaries on the site and in return the NHS trust will voluntarily register 23 acres of land, once part of Frenchay Common, at the south of the hospital site as a village green.

Mr Jocelyn said: “It is a wonderful thing for the people of the future.

“Some people will have grazing rights like on the common and although it has never been big enough before, maybe we will see sheep and even wild boar on there.”

He said the protection of the land and the sale of the house would not have been possible with Mr Woodward’s involvement and suggested a new entrance way due to be created is called Woodward’s Way.

“I thank Bob for providing this village green, not fur us but for the hundreds of thousands of people who will follow us,” added Mr Jocelyn.

Frenchay Hospital closed in May 2014 as all health services in north Bristol were transferred to a new building at Southmead Hospital. The main part of the site has been sold to Redrow Homes where 430 new houses are due to be built next year.