HOSPITAL bosses have confirmed they will reapply for planning permission to build a life-saving baby unit in Chester.
The Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust had its bid for a £2.4 million neonatal unit was controversially rejected by Cheshire West and Chester (CWaC) Council’s planning committee this month after one resident complained it would block the sunlight to her back garden.
Simon Holden, chief finance officer, told the trust’s annual members meeting on Tuesday that a new planning application would be submitted for the unit in the coming months.
He said: “We have liaised with the planning authority, we are working internally and it is our aspiration to reapply with a slightly changed application.
“I think it will be in the next two or three months, we will be reapplying.”
The plans followed more than three years’ fundraising by the Countess Babygrow Appeal.
Following the committee’s decision, Cllr Samantha Dixon, CWaC leader, announced she had asked officers ‘to work together with the hospital’ so another proposal could be brought back to the planning committee.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here