Merton Council’s Plans & Projects team have produced a planning brief, which will give guidance to the NHS architects involved in designing the new Nelson Hospital.

The brief includes guidance on how the new building should fit in with the neighbouring conservation areas and offers ideas for improvements to the surrounding public spaces. The brief also sets out how Merton’s planning policies would be applied to the redevelopment of the Nelson site.

Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust are redeveloping the Nelson Hospital as a local care hospital. It is expected that the hospital will be open by 2010. They have started preliminary work on the new hospital’s functional requirements. Architects are currently on board in an advisory capacity and the architects who actually design the new Nelson will be appointed by the PCT later on at the procurement stage. It is essential that the public are consulted about the plans and have input in relation to the design at an early stage.

The content of the brief is informed by comments made by the community at the Issues and Options consultation event, which was held in March 2006.

Residents now have an opportunity to comment on the planning brief before it is put to Merton’s cabinet members for adoption as a Supplementary Planning Document to Merton’s Unitary Development Plan. The consultation period will run between 28 August and 6 October 2006.

Hard copies of the planning brief are available to view at the Merton Link, Morden Library, Raynes Park Library and Wimbledon Library. Display panels summarising the brief’s key points will be on display in the Merton Link, Raynes Park Library, Wimbledon Library and Nelson Hospital.

The brief will also be available online at http://www.merton.gov.uk/planning . From here, people can view or download the document as a PDF file.

For further information, please contact Paul McGarry, Plans & Projects, 11th Floor Civic Centre, Morden SM4 5DX on 020 8545 3003