PLANS for a new mental health hospital to replace outdated services have been given the “green light”.

A 54-bed mental health hospital will be built in Mount View Street in Bexhill to replace services at the Department of Psychiatry in Eastbourne.

Funding for the new hospital has been made available under the national eradicating mental health dormitories scheme.

Construction will begin early next year and is due to be complete by the beginning of 2025.

Rother District Council also granted outline planning permission for a second phase on the same site which could potentially provide a further 72 beds at the hospital, depending on further funding becoming available in the future.

Programme director Paula Kirkland said: “This decision is a major milestone towards implementing the first phase of our wider vision to create modern facilities to address all inpatient mental health needs on a single site for people across East Sussex and beyond.

“We are delighted that Rother District Council’s planning committee have agreed that there is a need for a new mental health hospital and that the land in Mount View Street is a suitable site for the new facilities.

“As the project progresses, we will continue to involve the local community as much as we can to ensure that not only will the new facilities provide high-quality care for people but also become a real asset to the Bexhill area.”

A public consultation held last year by the NHS East Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust found most people strongly supported the proposals, with the site in Mount View Street being the preferred location.

Dr Andrew Hodson, local medical director for East Sussex and mental health lead for NHS Sussex, said: “We welcome the planning committee’s approval and the ‘green light’ it gives us to move on to the next stage of our project.

“The new hospital will not only remove outdated dormitory accommodation, replacing the current shared wards with individual rooms, each with ensuite bathrooms.

“It will also provide a modern and improved therapeutic environment for patients and create enough capacity to meet future inpatient needs.

“It is great news for the people of East Sussex and our local health and care system.”