Planning permission for St Ann's Hospital

A £35m project to revamp St Ann's Hospital in Poole will begin this autumn following a decision to grant planning permission for the scheme. The first phase to upgrade the hospital for people with mental health problems is expected to be completed by summer 2013, with subsequent phases to follow. The work, commissioned by Dorset Healthcare University NHS Trust, involves the refurbishment of the 1980s tower block and the erection of two new buildings designed, which will share the clifftop site with the Grade II listed, 100-year-old former sanatorium building. The first building to be constructed will be an extension to the existing building, providing a new acute assessment unit and male treatment ward accessed through a three-tiered shared canopy entrance. The original building will also be refurbished to provide single en-suite bedrooms. The second new building will have 32 single bedrooms and support facilities. The project has been designed by architects, Nightingale Associates.