Green light for mental care unit

The development of a £10million mental health unit at Birch Hill Hospital were given the go-ahead by councillors at Pennines Township planning committee meeting last night (Wednesday 22 January).

Councillors were satisfied that the secure nature of the unit, which would be used to rehabilitate patients detained under the Mental Health Act, would prevent an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour in the surrounding area, while they also believed that the privacy of nearby residents would not be affected.

Patients at the new unit would be detained, and not able to leave without being given consent.

Plans for the unit had met with controversy. The Council received 20 letters of objection from local residents, as well as two from local schools, and a petition of 433 signatures opposing the proposal. They said that Pennine Care, which is behind the development, has given no consideration to how the community feels about the development and that their views have not been sought at all.

Since July last year there have been 96 calls made to the existing mental health unit at Birch Hill. Meanwhile residents say that they have seen patients at the John Elliot Unit have been seen wandering around Wardle Village in nightwear, following children, and heard screaming noises coming from the unit.

But Councillors were satisfied that very few of the phone calls to police concerned patients from the John Elliot unit and agreed that the planning proposal demonstrated satisfactory parking and access arrangements and satisfactory security measures incorporated into the design of the building.

The 45-bed unit will open its doors in August 2010.