Concerns are growing that the proposed redevelopment of Watford General Hospital is being overlooked in favour of new housing projects under the controversial Health Campus scheme.

According to the latest Health Campus newsletter sent out to neighbouring residents, “great progress” is being made on Trade City – the scheme’s first business zone – with a view to opening later this year.

Two housing developments totalling nearly 800 new homes are also detailed in the letter, and described as a “top priority”.

However there is a notable lack of information on the redevelopment of the hospital, a fact which has not gone unnoticed by one concerned Queens Avenue resident.

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Valerie Blacklock said she was “aghast but not surprised” by the near total omission, although a passing mention of a new multi-storey hospital car park is given.

“As west Watford residents who have attended early meetings about this development know, we were promised a new hospital, and anyone who objected to the then 350 homes planned were labelled selfish,” she said.

“Now the latest missive is trumpeting 790 homes, and the only mention of the hospital is the building of a multi-storey car park.

“I have maintained for a long time that we will not have a hospital here in the future and this publication does nothing to change my mind. We are being subjected to more and more residential development in west Watford with no increase in health infrastructure.

“At one meeting I attended I was told, when I asked how many beds would be in the new hospital, that there would be ‘enough’. Let's hope someone knows how many beds are enough for the ever-increasing population in Watford and surrounding areas also serviced by the trust.   

“We know there are not enough beds at present. Once this land is developed for housing, commercial units, school and open spaces, where will there be land to expand the hospital within the campus?”

Construction on the first phase of new homes – 90 properties on Willow Lane, a third of which are to be “affordable” housing – is due to begin later this year.

A public consultation on this phase of development will take place this month ahead of the submission of a formal planning application.

The £350m Health Campus scheme is described as an “ambitious plan to transform the land surrounding Watford General Hospital over the next 10 to 15 years”, creating an estimated 1,500 new jobs.

Further phases will follow in the Riverside area, with the partnership – consisting of Watford Borough Council, the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust and developers Kier – planning to rejuvenate this stretch of the River Colne with a further 700 homes.

Design work on this part of the project is due to commence soon, with public consultation likely to follow in the summer.