Minffordd hospital in Bangor demolition approved

A derelict former Victorian hospital will be knocked down after police warned it had become a magnet for prostitution and drug dealing.

Ysbyty Minffordd in Bangor closed in 2006 and a joint report by police and fire officers in March found all the buildings to be "unsafe".

Young people who congregated on the site were at risk, the report warned.

Gwynedd council planning officers approved demolition "before the condition deteriorates further".

Plans to knock the buildings down were put on hold in March for a study to see if bats were living there.

Specialists found it to be unlikely but recommended bat boxes being put up nearby before demolition work started.

The habitat and wildlife report also cautioned against doing any work during the traditional bat hibernation period of November to March.

The hospital, which closed in 2006, was bought by Loughborough-based Rushcliffe Care Ltd who in 2011 planned to convert it into a specialist care facility.

However, the firm had been trying to sell the property since 2017, and now wants to demolish it, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.