IT WILL be several months until residents know if a major planning application for a new private hospital will go ahead or not. 

The planning inspectorate is to hold a public inquiry after Nuffield Health and the Talbot Village Trust appealed BCP Council’s non-determination on its new hospital and ‘innovation quarter’. 

Expected to last four days, the meeting set for April 30 will hear from several witnesses after BCP Council failed to complete a decision notice when it refused the application. 

As reported, Cllr Millie Earl said the authority had run out of time to fill in documents within the statutory timeframe.  

She said In December that the final wording for the reasons for refusal were still being written before the applicants launched their non-determination appeal. 

This led to the Nuffield Health and Talbot Village Trust appealing the non-determination. 

Bournemouth Echo: Hospital plansHospital plans (Image: Townshends/Kendall Kingscott/Nuffield Health)

October’s heated, four-hour committee meeting saw councillors reject the multi-million-pound investment at Highmoor Farm in Poole in front of three packed rooms of objectors. 

It was on the grounds of fears the development would bring too many people to the protected heathland, too many car parking spaces and that it would not protect the green infrastructure. 

The controversial application saw some 7,000 people sign a petition against the plans, many arguing it would be disastrous for the natural habitat and wildlife. 

Meanwhile, the two applicants argued the 11,606-square-metre private hospital and ‘innovation quarter in Talbot Village would benefit the economy and provide thousands of jobs. 

A decision by the planning inspectorate John Legg is expected to be announced on or before May 28. 

Should the application be rejected by the planning inspectorate, the applicants would have to challenge it through the courts within six weeks.