THE historic front of Essex County Hospital will be retained as a deal has been struck to sell the site for development.

Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust has agreed a contract with Linden Homes for the Lexden Road site.

Nick Chatten, projects director for the hospital trust, said the old nurses’ home and the main Victorian hospital building would be converted, if plans for a residential development are approved.

Mr Chatten said negotiations for a buyer for the 19th century hospital had been going on for more than a year and there had been seven interested parties.

He declined to reveal how much the site was sold for but said he expected Linden Homes would look to build about 130 homes there.

Mr Chatten said he expected the deal to be completed and the site transferred to Linden Homes by the end of next year.

However, before any bulldozers move in, the remaining services will be moved from Essex County Hospital.

Plans are in the pipeline for a new two storey building at Colchester General Hospital, between the Gainsborough wing and the main hospital building.

If the plans are approved by Colchester Council, it will be built by Alliance Medical and will house three services.

“Nuclear medicine” used in internal investigation of cancer, would be transferred from Essex County Hospital and MRI and CT scanners would be installed. They are used to create detailed images of the inside of the body.

Mr Chatten said Alliance Medical would pay for the multi-million pound building and replace the current permanent and mobile MRI scanners with three new MRI scanners worth around £750,000 each.

The scheme would also see a PET CT scanner, provided by NHS England, based permanently at Colchester. At present, one visits the hospital about two days a week.

If the new project gets the go-ahead it would mean a new CT scanner would be based at Colchester for use by patients from north Essex and other areas.

It is hoped the new state-of-the-art equipment will be in place towards the end of next year.

He said: “There are some really good co-locations planned.

“The group of nuclear medicines, breast surgery and MRI and CT scanning will be cheek and jowl in a core together.”