Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) undertake a local consultation on the future of and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a community auction on the Bootham Park Hospital site.

NHS Property Services (NHSPS), who own the Bootham Park Hospital site, intend to remarket the property shortly after the prospective purchaser withdrew from the sale contract at the end of March 2023. There has been an extensive local consultation process with the public and other stakeholders to secure the planning permission for the site which was approved by City of York Council in February 2023.

Whilst the former Botham Park Hospital has been declared surplus to healthcare requirements, if other public sector bodies wish to purchase the property to facilitate the delivery of alternative public services from the building, they would be able to register their interest and make an offer. This will be assessed by NHSPS through the process for sale of surplus assets in accordance with requirements set out in Annex 4.15 of HM Treasury guidance on Managing Public Money.