Former hospital could reopen as day nursery

A hospital shuttered by the NHS could be turned into a day nursery, if plans are approved by Bradford Council.

Shipley Hospital was closed in January after serving the town for a century, with the NHS saying the repairs and modernisation needed to keep it operating would be too costly.

Services including physiotherapy were moved to other Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust health centres and the building was put on the market.

Potential buyer Magic Roundabout Nurseries, a chain based in London, has applied to the council to change its use and also to carry out internal works, repairs and refurbishment at the site.

The hospital's closure was first announced in 2019, prompting concern from politicians and users about people having to travel further for care.

A public consultation heard worries about the cost of getting to appointments in other towns, particularly for patients who could not drive.

But the Covid-19 pandemic gave the facility, on Kirkgate, a temporary reprieve before it closed its doors for good earlier this year.

The trust said any income from the building's sale would go towards construction of Shipley Health and Wellbeing Campus, which was being built on the town's Cellar Trust site.

Magic Roundabout Nurseries currently has branches in London, Bristol, Nottingham and Derbyshire.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the company's application said if its plans were approved, there would be "no significant changes" to the property, which was originally built as a home in 1863.

"Whilst initial improvements will be made to fit the accommodation for its new purpose these will be restricted to the interior," it said.

"Among the facilities which may be developed will be holiday club use, training rooms and studios, and a family support centre."

A decision on the planning application is expected in July.

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