A former private hospital closed down after the deaths of three people is to continue to be used to house up to 100 migrant workers working for Banham Poultry.
Cawston Park Hospital, near Aylsham, shut in 2021 after the deaths of Ben King, 32, Nicholas Briant, 33, and Joanna Bailey, 36 – who all had learning disabilities – within two years of each other.
A scathing report revealed a string of failings by Dereham-based owners Jeesal Group, which closed down the hospital after inspectors from the Care Quality Commission put it into special measures.
Banham Poultry and Pandora X – a company owned by former Jeesal chief executive Tugay Akman – subsequently obtained temporary permission from Broadland District Council to use the disused hospital to house migrant workers for 18 months.
The former Cawston Park Hospital (Image: Newsquest)
The workers are employed by Banham Poultry in Attleborough and work shifts, with buses taking them to and from the site.
After the initial permission expired, the council agreed, in 2023, to extend it for a further 18 months.
But that permission has now expired, so the applicant asked the council for another extension so workers could be housed there for a further 18 months – until November this year.
Officers at Broadland District Council have permitted the extension – but have sought assurances over the long-term future of the site.
They said: “Temporary permissions are not a long-term solution, and the local planning authority would be expecting a more permanent solution to the future use of the building to come forward.”
The applicant has told council officers that it has been “actively pursuing a viable and deliverable long-term redevelopment strategy” and that “significant and tangible progress” has been made.
They said an “interested party” has a vision to redevelop the estate providing homes with care for older people and discussions with investors and care operators are ongoing.
The applicants told the council that it hoped to submit a draft masterplan to the council by the end of March, with an outline planning application following soon afterwards.