'Eyesore' still a magnet for chaos but future unsure

RESIDENTS SLAM FREQUENT FIRES AND NUISANCE

- By GEORGE PALMER-SOADY

AN abandoned St Ann's "eyesore" that used to be an NHS day hospital is back in the spotlight after a huge fire.

A plume of black smoke rose from Pease Hill Centre on July 5, spreading out across the area and being visible from miles away.

When the Post visited the scene at Furze Gardens, off Abbotsford Drive, many residents shared concerns over the building, reporting regular antisocial behaviour and trespassing.

The fire is being treated as arson, with Nottinghamshire Police blasting the "reckless" culprits.

No-one has yet been arrested in connection with the incident.

But neighbours said it was far from the first time there'd been trouble at the derelict Pease Hill Centre building, which closed in 2009.

The building is believed to have been built at some point in the 1970s, becoming a day hospital in 1992. It was also used for NHS outpatient services, and was home to community physiotherapists, occupational therapists and community psychiatric nurses.

According to planning documents from the time, the two-storey building contained kitchens, laundry rooms, onsite hairdressers and small wards with residential accommodation for elderly patients.

In November 2008, it was announced that the hospital would be closing after a review of care for elderly patients in Nottingham.

A new ward was opened at Highbury Hospital, near Bulwell, and the plan was to sell off Pease Hill Centre, which at that point had 17 regular users.