Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health (DH), Dr Dan Poulter (pictured), last month wrote to the chief executives, finance directors, and estates and facilities directors, at all English NHS Trusts, advising them of a new £290 million fund that the Government has made available to help public sector organisations sell surplus land.
In the case of hospitals and other healthcare facilities enabling them to reinvest the resulting revenue into building new facilities, or refurbishing and improving existing ones. The Department says much of the surplus land will be suitable for redevelopment into affordable housing, while land not used for homes could be used for free schools or business use. According to the most recently published estimates, there are 817 hectares of land across 414 NHS sites no longer required – equivalent to over 1,100 football pitches, and representing nearly 12% of all NHS-owned land. The DH says potential options might include site decontamination, demolition, asbestos removal, and infrastructure provision. This fund is recoverable, so will be repaid to HM Treasury following any sale. In his letter, Dr Poulter explained that the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) would be managing the funds, working in tandem with both the DH and the Department of Communities & Local Government (DCLG); the HCA will also shortly be contacting NHS Trusts to discuss the data they hold on surplus land in their possession. The deadline for applications to the fund is 30 April 2013, with all decisions on disposal set to be taken by September 2013. Dr Poulter’s letter explained that surplus land and buildings could either potentially be acquired by the HCA, or money could be made valuable to invest in improving sites to bring them to the market faster and more easily. NHS Trusts interested in either or both funding routes should initially complete the Register of Interest (Annex C) in the letter, and email it by 30 April to: surplushealthsites@hca.gsi.gov.uk The DCLG, HCA, and DH, will be running workshops to discuss these ‘incentives’ and receive feedback from the NHS. If it is agreed that an application can move forward for detailed consideration, Trusts will be required to provide the information referred to in Annex B of the letter. Dr Poulter’s letter also includes web links to online documents which provide NHS Trusts with the information required to record details of surplus land, while the HCA has developed a range of ‘enabling tools’ which it says can assist with land disposals – ranging from advice on development and brokering discussions with local partners, to information on helpful publications and market intelligence.
