Ambitious plans for a multi-million pound replacement hospital in Norwich have been lodged – but bats will need to be found a new home before demolition work can begin.
Health bosses are looking to spend about £9m on a major revamp of the Norwich Community Hospital (NCH) site, off Bowthorpe Road and have submitted proposals to Norwich City Council.
It would see the current hospital knocked down, with a replacement five-storey hospital built, along with new care units, a care home and accommodation for workers.
But the discovery of bats in one of the existing buildings means that, if planning permission is secured, a new home for the mammals would have to be provided before demolition could begin.
A Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust spokeswoman said: 'The trust has now submitted the outline application for redevelopment of the old NCH site to provide a new hospital.
'The proposed development looks to redevelop the existing site to provide a replacement hospital along with complementary uses, such as extra care, key worker accommodation and a care home.
'The new hospital building would replace buildings that are no longer fit for purpose, including some that have been vacant for some considerable time.
'The development will be planned to ensure that there is no interruption to the delivery of health services at the hospital.'
But, during surveys, bats, including common and soprano pipistrelles and brown long-eared bats were detected in the area, with the loft of one of the buildings on the site being used by the creatures.
That has meant the trust has also had to apply to build a bat roost above a bin store, to provide a new home for the animals, before demolition can take place.
The trust spokeswoman said: 'Following specialist recommendations, we are making new bat roosting provision in advance of planned demolition schedules, to allow the resident bat populations time to populate the new roosting areas.'
She added: 'The submission follows a significant amount of public consultation, and positive pre-application discussions with the council and key stakeholders, and we now await the outcome of the submission.'
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