The former Sunnyside Hospital on the outskirts of Montrose is in the final stages of being sold.
News of a purchaser for the sprawling site has emerged after questions were raised about the closure of a popular path leading to the one-time asylum and although details of the detail are sketchy, NHS Tayside has confirmed negotiations are at an advanced stage.
At one time Scotland’s oldest and largest psychiatric hospital, Sunnyside performed a health service role for more than two centuries before being closed in 2011.
It treated patients including renowned Angus sculptor Adam Christie and the father of Sherlock Holmes creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The hospital has lain empty since then, with concerns raised about thefts, the deterioration of the listed main building and, in recent months, health board anger after a group of paranormal enthusiasts gained unauthorised access to the property and posted photographs of their ghost hunt online.
A development brief for the 21-hectare site has been produced and, in 2013, Sunnyside was identified as one of the larger constrained location sites in Angus in a housing report which revealed land sufficient for over 1,700 new homes across the district.
Montrose councillor David May said locals had recently raised the closure of the route known as the Doctor’s Path, a well-used link from the Rosemount Road side of Hillside to the old hospital site.
“I have been led to believe that there is a public water main running under the path, and a parallel private water main belonging to the hospital under the driveway to the south,” he said.
“It seems that the works are probably being done to disconnect private properties from the private water main and connect them to the public supply,” added Mr May.
The project was confirmed by NHS Tayside, with the health body also confirming a deal for the hospital is in the offing.
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said, “Scottish Water is working on behalf of NHS Tayside at the Sunnyside site and these works should be completed in the near future.
“The sale of Sunnyside is in its final stages,” they added.
In a twist of fate, the prospect of a positive future for the Sunnyside site comes at a time when local campaigners are trying to convince health chiefs not to close down vital psychiatric provision within the facility which replaced the hospital.
The original Montrose Asylum, which was the first in Scotland, was established by local woman Susan Carnegie, funded by public subscription and opened in 1781.
In 2011, the replacement £20million Susan Carnegie Centre was opened at Stracathro Hospital, near Brechin.
It includes the Mulberry unit, which locals fear is the key target in plans to re-shape general adult psychiatry inpatient services in Tayside.
The services are currently provided from four wards across three sites at Murray Royal Hospital in Perth, the Carseview Centre in Dundee and Stracathro.
Tayside NHS board has agreed the services should be provided from one or two locations in future but health bosses have stressed this does not mean that any of the sites will close as all of the facilities also provide other mental health services including psychiatry of old age, intensive psychiatric care, rehabilitation, complex care and substance misuse treatment
