MORE than two years after it was first decided to demolish the Old Memorial Hospital in Cirencester, Cotswold District Council has once again agreed proposals to knock down the historic building to create additional parking in the town.

The work, which subject to planning will begin in the summer of 2019, will cost an estimated £682,000, which will include demolition and the creation of an additional 33 car parking spaces in the Sheep Street car park.

As part of the proposals other buildings on the site, the cottages and the World War 2 air raid shelter, will remain intact.

The decision has been welcomed by Chairman of the Cirencester Civic Society John Tiffney, who said: “It has been an eyesore for too many years. There is a lot of sentiment around it but we need more parking spaces. Cirencester is rammed and lack of parking is keeping people away.”

The decision, however, has been slammed in some quarters.

One supporter of the hospital said: “The council in my opinion have deliberately let it fall into disrepair. It has always been a landmark and loved building with lots of happy memories for the staff who worked there and many of the patients and their families who visited.”

Town and District Councillor Roly Hughes, who himself spent 19 weeks as a patient at the hospital when a child said: “The building has gone to rot due to the sheer negligence of CDC Conservatives. They have let it go to rack and ruin.

“What has happened to our town? We are losing its history. It is heartbreaking, and all for just 30 parking spaces.”

The hospital first opened its doors in 1875, but the main part of the building has been empty since early 2013. Keeping it safe has been a significant drain on council funds.

Earlier this year Malcolm Lewis submitted a FOI request to the CDC to find out how much had been spent by the Council on repairs to the Old Memorial Hospital, discovering that over eight years maintenance had cost £89,682.62.

Commenting on the plan, CDC Cabinet Member for the Cirencester Parking Project Councillor Mark MacKenzie-Charrington said: “Cabinet first agreed this course of action back in April 2016, so the Council decision today should come as no surprise.

“The Old Memorial Hospital building has been empty for almost six years and the average annual maintenance costs are increasing. In fact, we believe that the net cost of maintaining the building’s structural stability is likely to be about £230,000 over the next ten years.”

Local historian and Standard contributor Robert Heaven believes that the council’s decision will meet with a hostile reception from Cirencester residents.

“The hospital is dear to the hearts of many many Ciren people who have felt connected with it from an early age,” he said.

He added that the town’s parking problems would not be solved at all by putting parking on the site. “Locals I’ve talked to about it see it as a failure to properly manage the issues of parking in Ciren and blame the council for letting the building go to ruin as a way of forcing the issue.”

Cllr Mark MacKenzie-Charrington confirmed that the council had considered alternatives. “We also investigated the option of refurbishing the building for commercial use, but this would involve extensive and expensive works, including the removal of asbestos. Moreover, it would take at least 17 years to recoup the estimated £1.83 million refurbishment costs and this would lengthen if some of the rental space was vacant during that period.

“All in all, we believe that demolition is the best option as it will deliver much needed parking spaces in the town centre, and I am sure that this will be much appreciated by many motorists and traders.

“I should also point out that, together with other plans, this would help mitigate the loss of parking if we gain planning approval for the development of a multi-storey car park at the Waterloo site, and also gives us the opportunity to look at longer term future development opportunities, including parking options.”