A Victorian hospital will be razed to the ground after becoming a magnet for anti social behaviour, including prostitution and drug dealing.

In March an  application was submitted to demolish Bangor’s Ysbyty Minffordd, amid fears that the site was also being used for prostitution and drug taking.

But despite a decision being put on hold to allow for a further study on if bats were living in the derelict buildings, Gwynedd Council planners have now given the go-ahead.

The hospital, which has been closed for over a decade, was bought by Loughborough-based Rushcliffe Care Ltd who in 2011 revealed plans to convert it into a 36-bed specialist care facility, creating around 100 jobs.

The 19th Century building remains untouched, however, having been placed on the market since 2017 with a £400,000 asking price with the approved planning permission having now expired.

The need for demolition arose after police raised concern that the former hospital was “being used for prostitution” with used needles also being found and homeless people using the site despite it being declared unsafe.

But the planning statement, put together following feedback from North Wales Police and the fire service’s Arson Reduction Team, reported that the site was being used by youths from as far away as Holywell and that the buildings were “known to be a meeting place” with police “very concerned that drug dealers were targeting them.”

As a result, planning officers were satisfied that it is “not viable” to retain the existing buildings, adding that  the condition of the buildings is “very poor” thus causing a “public danger.”

Their report went on to note, “The applicant wishes to demolish the buildings and clear the site before the condition deteriorates further.

“The proposal is not contrary to any relevant policy nor is it likely to have a detrimental effect on the amenities of the local area nor nearby houses or protected species, therefore it is considered acceptable to approve it.”

 

The bat study had been initiated on the request of Natural Resources Wales (NRW), but specialists found that they were unlikely to be living within the confines of the largely derelict structures.

Officers were unable to access many sections due to their poor condition, but the report did recommends that bat boxes are installed on nearby trees before demolition starts, while any work should not take place during their traditional hibernation period of November to March.

 

Originally built in 1895, in 1948 it became a convalescent home before closing in 1984 following the opening of Gwynedd and Anglesey’s main hospital, Ysbyty Gwynedd.

Between 1988 and its closure in 2006, the hospital served as a psychiatric unit for elderly patients until being put up for sale in 2009 by the then North West Wales NHS Trust.