. ?Department Richmond House 79 Whitehall - London A 2N5 Tel: 020 7210 3000 :3 null may 5h" . . . 1' fot your letter of 23 August. I must apologise for the delay to . - concerns about the. potentlal disruption that a transfer of Knowle to the Of?ce of the Deputy Prime Mlnl'eter may have on the initiative. Hotuever. I should like to reassureQ'ylou that we are . moves-ahead. Furthennore. ee'you know. the Of?ce of -- l, ls aetakeholder at Chew Knowle and has an Interest In 4- to a: successful conclusion. redevelopmehhwhioh Includes Cherry Knowte, 8t Waterside Mental Health NHS Tl?ruet has now been . Will hater the Trust to work up its 'plensiih eu?lole'nt detail to vi: tt'?e landfitrequkee for its new soheme.?includlng any enabling works. of how the project will be fuhded. will be the key elements thE} in the r-fext stage otthe and on which the Trust is currently wet-king; "Mi? of?cials will be meetln?g with the Tru at on 22 October to help them take the work we saw at South of Tyne Wearside Mental 3: and we are trialling two further projects, on a Primary ?ute-elite at Newquay and North Merseyslde respecti?'ely. at New'quay wilt take place on ll will I Gomwatl Primary Care-Trust In the master plan for the mega Area. or redevefopment of the community by Design' at North Merseystde will take place on 6-10 I .- ??eem?ee bring key-stakeholders together Including Alnlree Hospitals NHS for the redevelopment or- reprovlalon of Alder Hey Hospital, "'t'h?f??jf?h?terpool Untreraity Hospital at Aintree and the provision of community facililles. Collecttrely-estimeted at ?12 billion of. investment. . .3213 i . . - @Department . of Heah?h take 3" ms {0 ape-ad upm?m in respect to I This? 3? {0 fat me have a further update' shortly. At that {Mint I will write to - . . Ito". remain Sir. Your Royal Highness's moat humble and Obedth I 1 I. Iv I: I 2-. ?15 'aerorHeaih . .5 its, Department of Health - ill-"a- ?51 33-5: Richmond House . 79 Whitehall l. London of Wales 51er 2N5 Tel: 020 7210 3000 I 3 JAN 2005 ?nisher?2004 about the joint ini ative between the Prince?s Foundation, itddhi?Nt?lS an Enquiry by Design, and in particular, progress on the Cherry thought-the New Year presented a good opportunity to bring you up-to-date I i' Outline Case for a maior capital redevelopment at Cherry mine South of Tyne Wearside Mental Health Trust has been ,1 in the decision-making process. namely a more detailed Outline . r2? they will be clarifying their site requirements within the :?j?geyatpped; atthe Enquiry by Design in November 2003, and my officials are zyg?ggt?gejthemwith assistance. entitle Cherry Knowle site is included in the transfer of land to the Office Minister to assist in the Government?s Sustainable Communities l?pr?g'ranjr?iat- This programme has a strong synergy with the Enquiry by Design approach. I-uncletstanoqgthet tho-Cherry Knowle redevelopment can incorporate hospital facilities,_ I. key?workers and become a thriving, vibrant, sustainable community. .1 initiative is therefore playing a major partfin achieving something of and bene?t to the local community. - I To in thepreparation of this Business Case, a meeting is taking place - ,iootudingthe NHS Trust, the Strategic Health Authority; NHS Estates and Prime Minister, along with colleagues from the Prince?s Poij'hdatibit; litre-very mush Welcome the Foundation's continuing involvement in this "tr-nonit'an't-'-projeet. 3' ..-say that progress-is also being made on the two additional Enquiries I of State for Heater Department . of Health it now take place in early April and will assist in the strategic . plgn?i?ggeqtiifedte reconfigure and redevelop the whole healthgeconomy of North maisgysiue; Aginaier Enquiry by Design is in the early stages of planning, to take place in - :f 1 wilt assist-the F'rimanir Care Trusts for Merton, Sutton and Mid-Surrey to -, arrangements for healthoare provision in those boroughs. As you can undertakian and .l believe that the Enquiry by Design will provide the right foundations for building the best I rL'l'i-Li'a-W i'5i?w?wgmmumtyawide Involvement. if. to keep me informed of progress, and I will write to . to'pr'ovide a further update. - oil? - . -i - 3. Asia". CLARENCE HOUSE 0 24th February, 2005 Thank you so much for your letters of October and 13m January' in response to my concerns about progress in redeveloping the site of Cherry Knowle Hospital in Sunderland. I have hesitated to bother you too much on this issue, and on the wider one of the disposal of one hundred HHS. hospital sites, but I feel now is the time to return to the fray! It is now over a year since we visited the site together to look at the work undertaken by my Foundation and other key partners at the ?Enquiry by Design" held in November 2003. You were, I think, enthusiastic about the holistic and integrated nature of the plan produced to drive forward an N.H.S.-led regeneration of not just the Cherry Knowle site, but the entire village of Ryhope. I hope you, will forgive my persistence on this issue but, despite your helpful updates, the log?jam to which I referred in my letter of last?August shows little sign of alleviation and it saddens me greatly to think that the immense progress and collective enthusiasm gathered twelve months ago is now in danger of being lost. The continuing hiatus seems to be due in no small part to the protracted negotiations being undertaken as part of the residual estate transfer to the O.D.P.ivi. I am sure that the issues surrounding the transfer must be incredibly complex and fraught with all kinds legal and ?nancial questions. However, the project seems to have made no real progress in the last year in addressing any of the key outputs contained within the Strategic Framework Plan produced by the A vital feature of that plan was that it should be capable of delivery by the N.H.S. as custodian of the overall vision. It is this principle that made the EM) plan such an innovative one and also one which has pointed the way to so many other Nils. Trusts dur'in the last twelve months. As I Wrote in my previous letter, i can?t help thinking that transferring this task to another Government Department 3) risks the introduction of further complexities and delays and will inevitably undermine the health vision as other priorities take precedence overtime. i would be so grateful for your thoughts about this situation, and particularly whether there is any prospect of the site remaining within the remit of the N.H.S. in the hands of the local South of Tyne and Wearside N.H.S. Trust? Alternatively, is there any way of ensuring that the transfer of the site to English Partnerships is accompanied by a commitrnent to go forward with the mixed-use, integrated plan that emerged with such promise from the am concerned that an estate monster: might result- in the splitting of the hospital site from other development sites in a way that would undermine the overall vision we have worked so hard together to achieve. Meanwhile, i do appreciate your kind words about my Foundation for the Built Environment and the contribution it has been able to make in this field. When back in November 200! I shared a platform with the then Secretary of State at 'a conference co-hosted by H.113. Estates and my Foimdation, I was pleased to launch what I think has been a very positive collaboration in promoting an integrate approach to desigt quality in healthcare buildings and the way we treat redundant hospitals. Cherry Knowlu was, or" course, one of live national pilot projects and I gather that the HHS. has encouragineg referred to the work done at the there as a model For host practise. I am confident that valuable lessons will be distilled From the further testing of the model in North hieraeyside which will have wide: applicability to other brown?eld sites. We are, however, faced with a potentially problematic discontinuity as Estates is wound up in a few months? Please forgive me, therefore, for repeating my growing anxiety that those responsible for the residual estates in future will be able to maintain the links that have been forged with the Foundation and take advantage not only of its enquiry methods, but also its growing network of practitioners with practical experience of making these developments work. I would be so glad of your reassurance that connections will not be lost as personnel and responsibilities change in the coming months? I would also be glad to know about the progress of the mas terplanning for the sites which are to be transferred: could there be scope here a broader partnership with my oundation'? I think you will know by now to your cost! that these are matters about which I care deeply chie?y because I have witnessed so many failed opportunities to create imaginative, and innovative heritage-led regeneration initiatives which can maximize the asset value of the historic site and result in genuinely mixed-use, mixed? income communities. In order to create truly sustainable communities and avoid the mistakes of the past, I hope you will agree that we need to take a long-term view, think in innovative ways and take heed of mounting evidence from around the world about the true cost, in both ?nancial and human terms, of bad development. I fear that if the estates are transferred now without proper consideration, various chickens will come home-to roost inyour own department-incoming years as the physical and mental well-being of future communities is affected nOt least the key N.H.S. workers who may be living in At the risk ofbeinga complete bore about this, I do pray that we could discuss these matters more fully before irrevocable decisions are taken which could sacri?ce the long-term value to be gained from the most sympathetic and ?integrated? use of the assets. All I can say is that my Foundation for the Built Environment is ready to help in any way it can. ?fte?SECcha-ryo?f?ate for-Health . Of Health Richmond House 79 Whitehall London . ?7 Essa-323356 .: Tel: 020 7210 3000 .1.- 2.1 MAR 2005 indeed for your letter of 24 February about Cherry Knowle. i am .. I about the opportunities it presents to deliver a scheme that both gives buildings to support its work, but also creates a solution "ti: frustration at the apparent speed of progress._ However, I do hope that year concerns. Whilst the ?su rplus" land will transfer to English a commitment to continue with the Enquiry by Design process. I I gag-It?atil-Itake the matter of the Cherry Knowle Development very seriously, fit-heifieful-that it will provide a modei for future such collaborations. :1 j' - to start by setting out what progress has been made, and then to -. sytawajjajattrremjsituation. have not moved ahead as smoothly or as quickly as we would all I do know that the local NHS Trusts, the Strategic Health Authority, Prime Minister and English Partnerships, along with my officials, . 1 - tingeftakjg'ig-considerable work to move matters forward. For instance, the a a' Mental Health NHS Trust has already initiated some design I importantly, the Trust and the local Teaching Primary Care Trust are making the service vision. i think it is quite right that before we we will need, that we should ensure that the service plan is right. . rust's have: previewed the evidenCe in the initial business case to support bed provision revisit-tired current bed use I g?gated theI.im?pact of introducing community specialist teams for Crisis 22% Outreach and'Early lntervention?in particularly - T- I. bed use at the role of the community and mental health team?s roles and - these-"of primary care and reshaped services accordingly -I understand that I netvworker roles are being introduced I {focusing on aWhiole systems review to allow the Trust to provide more care in a 3" setting, including community crisis beds and supported accommodation 'li if Department {If . . .?Plr -- rate State for Health -- DH Department of Health vat-strategic review of specialist services to determine whether they should be .3 more locally. and then to plan accordingly. if. if are-very important results and the Trust is right to look closely how . 9.2.1? ?esta-geegvices, To ensure that this work is well resourced and led, the a-Eiirectidr of Mddemisation and Planning, and has already begun 2' made by the Healthcare Commission in their recent review. theTrust is aiming that bythe end of March it and the Teaching Primary - "l "bays tested out research findings and clinical evidence on the impact of the future requirements for beds. This will lay a robust foundation this specification of the new hospital. This is vital because it will 3 ,r brief for the new capital scheme. The Trust advise that ?g to let the Strategic Health Authority have-their Outline Business await-egiihaveagreed with Johanrescott that the land in the retained estate Partnerships. i believe that this will make a very valuable -. bur. programme on sustainable communities. I am informing the Trust that 7? for their development will be transferred to English . I Partnerships have reiterated their support for the Enquiry By J;"igjefvisign;andthat they recognise the priorities of the NHS. Neither Q'j w? :shipsmot-the Trust can deliver this scheme separately and joint working - to hear from Engiish Partnerships that they welcome the f? with-the- Foundation, with whom they have already enjoyed :?ilebotatiehs. I believe that the commitment of these bodies should'ensure as a single entity. I am_ sure that English Partnerships Whether your Foundation can assist them with any of the other Tintemte?jet HHS Estates, we are currently finalising the plans for the future. A team will . at Health, and its other core functions will move to bodies with programmes will find the most synergy. Continuity and partnerships. for instance with the Prince?s Foundation, are . priority. 1- initiative is ambitious, and it is perhaps inevitable that things will not as we would all wish. However, I do believe that there is now a clear I. the continuing commitment of all of the interested parties we can - achieve. age-birthian that is best for the whole community, and which will act as a beacon for other schemes.