The Portsmouth Society - News
| News | St James's Hospital Grounds | |
| Earlier news | The long-running story of the fight for village/town
green in the grounds of St James Hospital
looks like coming to a satisfactory compromise
solution.. The deal is that the Health Trust
agree not to build on the square of land
which we had campaigned for and which was
designated a town green in exchange for permission
to build 18 units of accommodation on the
strip of land bordering Locksway Road south
of the cricket ground between the two drives.
The buildings can be erected, we think, with
the loss of some young trees but without
destroying any mature ones. There has been
some opposition from residents of Locksway
Road, but from our point of view it is a
good deal. We get what we set out to get
in the first place, that is the saving as
open space of the most beautiful part of
the grounds with its splendid mature trees.
This is unaffected by the adverse side of
the balance, the concession for some housing
south of the cricket ground. We can do it! Award The St James Park Trust was nominated for - and won - a News "We can do it" award for its achievement in preserving a valuable part of the city's environment. Councillor Dr Caroline Scot who has worked tirelessly for the Trust's case received the award at a ceremony in the New Theatre Royal . New developments at the site Celia Clark and Roger James were invited by Zenna Atkins, chairman of the Portsmouth Health Care Trust, to view and comment on the plans for two new developments they propose in the eastern part of the St James grounds, one bordering Locksway Road which we liked, for patient accommodation, partly to replace the much disliked Solent Wards. It is designed to have the appearance of a terrace of three houses. We were doubtful about some aspects of the other, further north; but they listened to our criticisms and may well take note of them. At any rate we were pleased to be consulted. RJ |
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