Victorian Goodmayes Hospital buildings could be sold by NHS trust for housing development

The hospital, built as an asylum in the late 1800s, is no longer used to house patients.

Parts of the site, in Barley Lane, are used by the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) as offices and for outpatient clinics since wards were moved over to the new hospital.

Volunteer-run radio station The Jumbo Sound broadcasts to Goodmayes Hospital, King George Hospital and over the internet from a studio in the old buildings.

Presenter Phil Lester said: “We hope that if the hospital is sold we will have somewhere to go but we don’t know where.

“I assume they will sell it when they get the right price but the bottom line for us is where we’re going to go.”

The former West Ham Borough Corporation started building the asylum in 1899 and admitted the first patients in 1901.

Lewis Angell was chosen as the architect for the grand design.

One of his other works, the Canning Town Public Hall and Library, is Grade II listed.

But Goodmayes Hospital was never given the same protection, meaning the buildings can be demolished, extended or changed without permission.

Jef Page, chairman of Ilford Historical Society, said: “Unfortunately, with the way things have been going for the last couple of decades, you can more or less say goodbye to any building that’s not listed.

“But the costs of maintaining them are high and it’s difficult to find a function for them.”

Claybury Hospital in Woodford Green, built as the London County Council Asylum in 1893, was developed into a luxury gated residential complex despite public opposition in 1997.

A NELFT spokesman for said the trust will work with the council to ensure development of the green belt site meets requirements.

He added: “The trust is committed to providing healthcare from modern efficient buildings and is developing plans for the future of the older buildings on the Goodmayes site, which includes options for possible conversion and development for residential use.”