‘Forgotten’ former hospital in Cardiff put up for sale

An Edwardian-era hospital in a sought-after district of Cardiff has been put on the market after being left derelict for 10 years.

Whitchurch Hospital on Park Road, Cardiff, shut its doors in April 2016 and has laid vacant ever since.

The Velindre University NHS Trust became the legal owner of the site in November 2024, but they are now working with agents at Savills to sell the property and its vast estate covering over 32 acres.

The advertisement reads: “Whitchurch Hospital represents an exciting opportunity to revitalise a historically and locally important former Edwardian hospital set within its own gardens and incorporating established sporting facilities. It comprises a site area of approximately 13.1 ha (32.5 acres), plus approximately 31,122 sq m (334,998 sq ft) GIA of buildings.”

The main hospital building, adjoining chapel and six octagonal garden shelters are Grade II listed, while the wider grounds are also protected as a Grade II listed Registered Historic Park and Garden.

The hospital was originally opened in 1908 as a large, self-sufficient mental asylum. It took 10 years to build and cost nearly £350,000, which is equivalent to around £42 million today.

Designed as a self-contained community with its own farms, power supply and water system, the hospital accommodated around 750 patients in separate male and female wings.

During the First World War, it was renamed the Welsh Metropolitan War Hospital, and in the Second World War it was once again requisitioned by the military. At the time, it became the largest emergency service hospital in south Wales, treating British, American and German troops.

On 5 July 1948, the hospital was transferred to the newly formed National Health Service (NHS), although its layout was later deemed unsuitable for modern medical practice. The site eventually closed in 2016.

Any future use of the site will be subject to planning permission, with redevelopment expected to take account of the hospital’s historic significance and its location within a residential area.

The hospital site also featured in the Northern Meadows protests, when campaigners opposing development on nearby green space called for housing to be built on the derelict Whitchurch Hospital land instead.

A request for pre-application planning advice has been submitted to Cardiff Council, alongside ongoing informal discussions.

Agents said an unconditional sale to a buyer able to demonstrate the ambition and capacity to restore the historic property is preferred, although alternative development agreements or conditional sales may also be considered.

View more information about the sale of the hospital here.