A disused hospital could be demolished and replaced with flats for adults with learning difficulties, hospice accommodation and affordable housing.

Downland Housing Association hopes to buy the former Westbourne Hospital in New Church Road, Hove, and build four buildings ranging from three to five storeys on the site, if Brighton and Hove City Council approves the scheme.

The hospital, owned by the city council, has lain empty since 2003 when it was last used as a residential care home. It had been leased to the South Downs NHS Trust and also provided a detox service and housed people with mental health problems, who have since been transferred to the Neville Hospital and Millview.

The redevelopment includes a four-storey block of eight two-bedroom flats and a five-storey block of 15 two-bedroom flats, some of which would be rented and some sold to key workers such as nurses and teachers.

Two other three-storey blocks would be used by the city council to provide long and short-term accommodation for adults and young people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities.

One block would provide five flats and a house with a communal lounge, kitchen and office.

The other would replace the city council's short breaks hospice facility at Pioneer House, in Hollingdean, which caters for 11 adults but which the city council says is no longer suitable.

A city council spokeswoman said: "If the scheme is successful we will be able to provide a service for 14 adults with learning disabilities to come and stay, giving their carers a break. This is an increase on what we can currently provide.

"The building at Hollingdean has outlived its usefulness. The new building would be purpose-built and closer to amenities and the feedback from families has been very positive."

Friday, July 21, 2006