Abandoned Croydon General Hospital - Essay Example

?Abandoned Croydon General Hospital: Challenges to the Redevelopment The Croydon General Hospital building at one time had about 250 beds for in-patients. The expansion and development of the nearby Mayday Hospital complemented by the age and state of the building’s disrepair, made it impractical to maintain and it was closed to patients by 1996. Many plans have evolved for the building since then, but renovation was out of the question despite its unique architectural design that originates from 1867 as a voluntary hospital for the poor industrial classes. Only some stone works hopefully to be incorporated to the new building, and bricks, were being preserved to be sold to help defray costs. Demolition that started in 2004 cost the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM) about ?800,000. There are now, however, some occupied spaces of the hospital building which houses the Croydon Healthy Resource Centre with 16 apartments which opened in 2008 for the public. It was run by the Metropolitan Housing Trust which gained permission in 2005. The Croydon NHS Trust is tapped to develop a park in the place until such time that actual redevelopment starts. The majority of the building todays remains barren, and decrepit. There was a time when the Croydon Voluntary Action or CVA partnered with the SLaM to redevelop the site. Plan for the provision of 16 units of shared-ownership apartments for social-renting, a variety of community facilities, and healthcare centre made redevelopment hopeful for the Croydon General Hospital building. However, these plans were abandoned for financial constraints in 2004. There are many who remain hopeful for the development of the old, dilapidated, and partly demolished building. One of them is Mr. Brian Mumford of the Broad Green Residents’ Association who suggested that a community garden or park would be most welcome for residents. Another resident added that while the area would be given back to whichever would be tasked the regeneration project, it would be best for it to become an open park for the mean time to reduce its horrible state. Another resident added, “The building adds to the eerie atmosphere of the area.” What some of the nearby residents fear is for the area to contribute to the growth of crime. It has been noted that abandoned buildings tend to become magnet for criminal activities like mugging and robbery. “We are not expecting a massive housing development but just some community centres to cater to social and healthcare needs of Croydon residents,” one resident who have attended community dialogues added. The centres are expected to address immediate healthcare concerns, help increase employment, engage residents in inclusive activities, and help improve lives and social conditions. An eco-friendly community centre with a green roof for wildlife and plants was designed and expected to replace the hospital, costing about ?2 million. It is expected to house more than 30 community groups in north-west Croydon. However, these plans will yet to materialise. It should be noted that the building had been proposed to become a healthcare centre to be run by SLaM, the Croydon Primary Care Trust, Croydon Social Services and the CVA. These did not materialise. One officer of the Croydon NHS Trust who refused to be identified said that they are still looking into raising funds to finance the redevelopment. “There are various institutions, some of them private, we are currently negotiating with,” he said when asked about any development of the project. “As of now, funds are not enough and un-available. “ A critic of regeneration, however, was quick to point out that “There is high probability that multinational retailers must be tapped to invest on the project and this would definitely accommodate the retailers once the project is done. It will increase the rent for local organisations and prospective residents. This will drive prices up in the area and will not be affordable.” The critic based his assumption on recent and previous regeneration programmes which were not affordable for inner city dwellers. These dwellers, instead of being accommodated in new residential housing projects, were forced to relocate to the city outskirts where marginalisation of their kind continues. Some urban dwellers also look for other decrepit areas within the city where they could afford to stay. Regeneration is one of the United Kingdom’s more worrisome policy adaptations as it favoured private sector slum clearance as well as municipalisation of housing stock through the various housing councils. Employing modernist architectural building designs, the UK’s inner city boroughs were then hailed as finest in Europe and a new solution to housing crisis. These were massive multi-storey buildings described as flattened concrete blocks with barely usable open spaces. Its large contract also meant sky-high cost, so that fundamental construction features were often scrimped and designs of heating and lifts, although basic features, never actually functioned (Stewart and Rhoden, 2003). Another subsequent problem of regeneration is the lack of accountability for assigned landlords of these massive housing schemes as they were never sanctioned for poor performance. As the buildings become the abode of new forms of stigmatisation, crime, and marginalisation, replacing the working class with underclass, the housing and community problems compounded (Stewart and Rhoden, 2003). These earlier findings could be highly duplicated with the regeneration of the Croydon General Hospital building. However, as it remains un-occupied and in part a problem site, local organisations look for ways to keep the Croydon General Hospital functional. Initiatives at building a park, however, have not been noted yet although many sectors wish it to become one. Liveable open spaces are craved for in many urban areas like London and creating walkways with greeneries, bike lanes and seating areas are most welcome as planners also adjust to the need. “There are many issues to address in any regeneration project such as the Croydon General Hospital,” one local official who wished to remain anonymous said. “Authorities are looking into raising funds first, and then we will look into addressing local concerns. If we will work on creating the immediate park as clamoured for, it will only derail our priorities. We are not discouraging non-government contributions for the development and use of the area and any improvement from its current state will be a big boost.” Economic competitiveness is one of the major concerns for planning and even regeneration programmes especially within Europe. As many cities around the world vie for concentration of incomes and resources in their area, others need to keep abreast with development including the need to address urban decay characterised by socio-economic problems and more physical evidences like the Croydon General Hospital. The recreation of the small, cohesive town concept has hounded planners as they revive less harassed and friendlier public spaces including pseudo-civic ones that are of mixed use – commercial and organisational buildings, of which the Croydon Hospital is expected to become. Even without explicitly informing the public, the commercial function of one building is difficult to deny in consideration of the failed residential condominiums that were massively built after the war. The lack of economic activities as well as access to basic services definitely added to the early deterioration of such residential or even community projects. In the regeneration programmes that soon followed, many cities adopted changes to incorporate mixed land use since separation of residences far away from the work place such as industrial zones and relocation of housing in city outskirts proved to be economically disadvantageous. Relocated workers and their families soon find their way back to decrepit areas of the city where transportation may be less of a problem and access to work and other services can be availed. This is to the detriment of their housing and communities as they help build up or enlarge marginalised urban communities adding up to the decay. Another keen observer of regeneration commented on the authorities of Croydon General Hospital to instead renovate what is left of the building. “There are enterprising renovation firms that can address even worse conditions than Croydon,” he said. But given its partly demolished state, this seems impossible by now. “Had they not been quick to demolish and find easy funding in the guise of regeneration, the building could have been salvaged,” the critic noted. Government funding for regeneration had been made available during the 1980s when decays of urbanisation have become unbearable and authorities were pressured. Urban decay originated from the massive industrialization of the 1800s when Europe, led by Great Britain, occupied territories and led global trade through its ports and fleets. The migration of African slaves made industrialisation faster and cheaper as raw materials were sourced at their cheapest cost and labour was cheapest. However, the effects of industrialisation soon loomed as urban decay reflected not only movements of development but also socio-economic problems in a city or area. Marginalised areas developed and grew, buildings aged and soon abandoned or occupied by non-paying tenants. Whilst the Croydon General Hospital is far from a residential one, it is a building which saw its heyday as its growth and expansion were witnessed by royalties from the visits of the Duke of Edinburg in 1883, the King and Queen in 1916, the Queen Mother herself, Prince George, to Princess Alexandra in 1957. It also became witness to World War I and World War II as Croydon is said to have received the most bombs during the WWII. It was the expansion of Mayday Hospital that decreased services in Croydon General Hospital until it closed in 1996. There remain a lot of possibilities for the re-development of Corydon General Hospital but turning it into a park remains a challenge. It’s development must be a much bigger challenge. Reflection I would choose a weekly news magazine for my paper because people will have more time to digest its content. The feature story is not very sensational although it touches in an issue that remains timely. Urban decay and regeneration continue being discussed for their socio-economic implication to Londoners and other city dwellers as well as authorities. Whilst there is a continuing effort to address problems of urban decay, the right formula remains elusive as new problems mutate from the previous ones. I have learned in this exercise as a journalist that there are many sides of a story. At the onset, I only understand the abandonment of a building as economic in nature: the owners were not able to sustain business, or that renovation cannot be afforded. I soon found out that there are more issues to address as well as reasons why a building has to be abandoned. But before learning the deeper issues about an abandoned building, I have to dig deeper about planning and regeneration, urban histories, and the many aspects of cityhood. That even a small portion of a city has many sectors involved in it, including the re-development of a building such as the Croydon general Hospital. I have encountered many challenges in investigating about Croydon. One of them is that authorities and experts were not very keen about being identified for their comments and observations even if it meant for the improvement of a place or community. People would only want to be identified if what they are voicing out is “safe”. The strength of my feature story is about the intricacies of urban decay. There are many weaknesses on my feature story. It was difficult to request for an interview with authorities. They seem to be very busy, if not elusive. Non-government organisation members are cooperative, but they did not wish to be identified. Research on urban decay and regeneration became very important in order for me to fully understand the issues involved about an abandoned building. The ethical and legal dilemma was about writing a libellous comment or information or printing wrong information. I believe that if given a little more time, I could have done better to present more sides of Croydon, or its intended development. I could have also searched if presented and approved plans were always followed in redevelopment projects in order to predict the possible outcome for Croydon General Hospital. In addition, I could have also interviewed planners and winning bidder for the regeneration. Words= 2025 Reference: Stewart, J. and M. Rhoden. A review of social housing regeneration in the London Borough of Brent. The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. 2003. 123:23 Read More