John Radcliffe Hospital building and parking 'could be sold' say staff

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) has said there are 'no current plans' to get rid of Manor House, at the back of the Women's Centre, but admitted it was 'reviewing its non-clinical buildings'.

A staff member at the trust got in touch with the Oxford Mail to reveal those working in the building, currently used for staff training, had begun to be relocated to other areas.

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This is understood to be mostly to the disused wards at the Churchill Hospital, which is also at the Headington site.

The member of staff, who asked not to be named, said the reason given was the trust was 'preparing to sell' the Manor House, surrounding gardens and staff parking adjacent to Osler Road, with Oxford University being the expected buyer.

He also said he believed any move to get sell the building, which has been part of hospital site for more than a century, or to reduce staff parking spaces, would be unpopular.

Manor House and surrounding parking

A lack of parking space for both patients and staff has been a long-standing problem at the site, with a petition calling for a multi-storey car park signed by more than 3,000 people.

A statement from OUH did not deny staff were being moved, but insisted it was not due to a planned sale.

John Radcliffe Hospital

It said: "The trust is in the process of reviewing non-clinical buildings around our sites, particularly older ones such as Manor House that are in poor repair and are difficult to maintain, where the new Oxford Local Plan suggests a range of alternative operational and complementary uses that may be acceptable.

"This will allow us to offer staff a better working environment and to make better use of the buildings and site.

"There are no current plans to dispose of this building."

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The Oxford Local Plan, which was officially adopted by Oxford City Council in June and will guide planning decisions until 2036, states OUH is 'confident' its future needs can be met on the existing Headington site 'through redevelopment and by making more efficient use of land'.

It adds: "Some areas of the site will no longer be required by the trust for hospital uses and will become available for alternative uses."

Google Maps view of Manor House from above at the John Radcliffe Hospital site

Acceptable alternative uses noted in the plan include those with a link to the hospital such as a patient hotel, extra care accommodation, or education and academic institutional uses.

'Complementary' acceptable uses in the plan also residential development, employer-linked affordable housing, student accommodation and small scale retail units 'provided that they are ancillary to the hospital'.

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The local plan states: "Hospital related uses should remain the main focus of the site.

"Focussing development on existing sites creates opportunities for shared trips to the sites which would reduce traffic movement, provide opportunities to reduce parking on the site and provide an incentive for improved public transport to the site."

Manor House is one of the oldest parts of the Headington hospital site.

Managers of the city's old Radcliffe Infirmary bought the Manor House estate in Headington in 1919.

A public appeal for funds was used, and much of the money came from the British Red Cross as part of the winding-up of monies raised during the First World War.

The first hospital use of the site was when the Preliminary Training School of the newly-established School of Nursing took up residence in the Manor House in 1922.