WORK on a major housing development on the site of Runwell Hospital has started with housebuilding set to begin by the end of the year.
The St Luke’s Park development of 575 homes will be built across 200 acres of former hospital grounds just north of Wickford.
There was opposition to the development due to the strain it would place on traffic and infrastructure in Wickford.
Former use: Runwell Hospital before it closed
Developer Countryside, which is building the estate, said there will be “significant improvements” to the nearby A132 to ease congestion and also to Runwell Sports and Social Club.
Graham Cherry, chief executive of Countryside Homes and Communities division, said: “We are pleased to have started infrastructure works and look forward to pushing forward with building the first homes at St Luke’s Park.
The estate will also include shops, offices, a community centre, plus roads, walkways, cycleways, utilities and services.
Runwell Hospital was built in the 1930s and provided mental health services until closure in 2010.
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