Page 4 - RNT-C10

The HISTORY of REDDITCH New Town

In the RDC's annual report of March, 1965, it was first recorded that the Birmingham
Regional Hospital Board had requested the reservation of some forty acres of land on
which to place a District Hospital.

The Authority had published its design the previous year but, during the period now under
review, an obstruction to progress came to light. This was a proposal by the then Urban
District Council to establish an incinerator to the South of the proposed Hospital site and
abutting the boundary. The question of an operation of this nature and the possibility of
creating atmospheric pollution therefore needed examination. Both Council and the RDC
stated quite clearly that the establishment of a District Hospital had the priority. The
change in local authority responsibilities as a result of reorganisation delayed the resolving
of this apparent difficulty.

Some disappointment was also occasioned during 1974 when, as a result of a cutback in
expenditure on health services, the building of the Winyates Health Centre was unable
to proceed as planned. The RDC was assured however that that the building work was
to be carried
out during the
following year.
In 1975 the 40-
acre site for a
District General
H o s p i t a l
reserved on the
south side of
the Designated
Area at the
expense of the
C o r p o r a t i o n
since March,
1965 was still
a w a i t i n g
development.
During the year
s t r o n g
representati
ons were made to the Chairman of the Regional Hospital Authority and to the Minister for
Health and Social Security in an endeavour to ensure that a scheme for the site was
approved and for building work to commence without further delay.
Finally, construction work on the new Winyates Health Centre began in April 1975 and it
was expected that the centre would be opened in the late spring 1976. To deal with the
demands of the expanding Matchborough and Winyates communities, it was necessary
to allocate an additional house as a temporary Health Centre in Matchborough.
The saga of the proposed District General Hospital continued. During 1976 the Minister
of State of the Department of Health and Social Security, Dr. Owen, carried out his own
investigation into the siting of the hospital and his findings were eagerly awaited.

The demands upon the present Smallwood (Cottage) Hospital grow annually and its
facilities would clearly be unable to cope with the projected expansion of the town.

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