LATEST NEWS:  July 2009 – Royal Albert Fields are no longer the NHS’s stated preferred site for a mental health hospital – but many residents suspect that they still intend to pursue this site ‘by the back door’. Lancashire Care NHS Trust is currently consulting the public on 3 options:
Option 1: Refurbish the existing hospital at Ridge Lea (Lancaster).
Option 2: Close Ridge Lea in 2012 and send patients to Blackpool.
Option 3: Close Ridge Lea and re-use existing buildings on Ashton Road.

Green Cllr Chris Coates (pictured) said: “The NHS prefers Option 3, but concentrating more services on Ashton Road could make it easier for them to develop Royal Albert fields later on. I will push for Option 1, and I urge residents to do the same.”

For more info, see: http://www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk/consultations.php . The deadline for responses is 21 Sept.  A consultation event will take place at the Trust’s Lancaster HQ (Moor Lane Mill) on Monday 7th Sept, 6-8pm.

Task Group Critical of Care Trust; Nov 2008. The Lancashire Care Trust has chosen Royal Albert Fields, off Ashton Road, as its preferred site for a new mental health unit in North Lancashire. The trust carried out a flawed consultation exercise last year which has resulted in an investigation by Lancashire County Council’s Health Overview & Scrutiny committee. The report of the County Task group strongly criticised the Care Trust’s handling of the consultation.(see Task group report.)

The response from the Trust has been disappointing and dismismisive of local residents concerns. Whilst they were prepared to take on board the Task groups suggestions for improving future consultation they have refused to revisit the result of the flawed consultation into the Royal Albert Fields site.

The current situation is that the Care Trust intend to submit a planning application for the Royal Albert fields site - this may be anytime in the next 2 years. This leaves local residents in the awful situation of not knowing what is going to happen. We still believe that the consultation was so poor that the whole process should started again.

Report of LCC Health Overview & Scrutiny Task Group
lct_raf-task-group-report.pdf   
Response from Lancashire Care Trust
report-of-the-lancashire-care-trust.pdf  
Letter to Chair of County Overview & Scrutiny committee
letter-to-chair-of-os.pdf 

Recent Press Releases:
care-trust-response-an-insult.doc     
call-for-mental-health-unit-plans-to-be-scrapped.doc 
care-trust-to-be-taken-to-task.doc    

Local residents have formed RARA – the Royal Albert Residents Association to oppose the greenfield development – see:  www.royalalbert.net