Extending to 87 hectares (215 acres), the former Bangour Village hospital in Dechmont provides the potential for up to 800 new build homes and the conversion of existing buildings to form a further 91 residential units, subject to planning permission.

The hospital was built by architect Hippolyte Blanc in the early 1900s as the Edinburgh District Asylum and was designed as a self-contained community supported by its own amenities which included a village shop, church and railway. The use of the hospital diminished upon the opening of the local St John’s Hospital in Livingston in 1989, eventually closing completely in 2004.

Comprising open space, mature woodland and derelict buildings, the site was designated as a Conservation Area in 1993. It is bounded by open farmland to the north, east and west, and the village of Dechmont to the south west. It is zoned in the adopted West Lothian Council LDP for 500 homes and in the Proposed LDP (October 2015) for 550.

There are 15 listed buildings on site (two A-listed, three B-listed and ten C-listed) together with 30 non-listed buildings. All of the buildings on site are unoccupied.

In August 2015 an application for Planning Permission in Principle for a residential and mixed-use development was submitted to West Lothian Council along with applications for the demolition of listed and non-listed buildings. The masterplan proposes 891 residential units; a new primary school on site and circa 1,000 sq m of ancillary use. A total of 134 units (15% of the completed units based on 891 residential units) are to be affordable housing.

A decision on planning is expected in summer 2017.

The Scottish Futures Trust has been working with NHS Lothian to develop and deliver a strategy for the sale of the site with a focus on working up a commercially viable plan informed by stakeholder engagement.

Stewart Taylor, senior director at property consultants CBRE, which has been instructed to sell the development, said: “We are delighted to bring this unique development site to the market for sale. Bangour Village hospital offers an exceptional opportunity to acquire a significant site in the heart of Scotland’s central belt on the M8 corridor that is suitable for a variety of uses. Considerable work has been done by the vendor and their consultants to prepare the site for sale. We are confident there will be strong interest in the site and it’s likely a closing date will be set in early course.”

Justin Lamb, director at Justin Lamb Associates, added: “Bangour is probably the best opportunity in Scotland to deliver a new village within an existing mature landscape setting, with refurbished listed buildings and a new primary school on site; providing the ideal setting for professionals and families of all ages. It also includes excellent commuter links to the major employment centres of Livingston, Edinburgh and Glasgow with relative ease.”