NHS Tayside has confirmed a buyer has been found for Little Cairnie Hospital site in Arbroath.
Work is currently under way to clear part of the site as lawyers are finalising the sale to the undisclosed buyer.
The hospital shut suddenly last year and its sale was approved by NHS Tayside board.
It was put up for sale last October with a ‘price on application’ guide price and marketed by Perth-based estate agent Ballantynes.
The hospital had recently been used for palliative care and was deemed surplus to requirements after increased provision for this care was provided at Arbroath Infirmary.
There has also been a general move by the NHS to a community-based model of care, with people being supported to stay in their own homes.
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “The marketing process for Little Cairnie Hospital in Arbroath has gone to a closing date and legal teams are finalising the transfer of the sale to the preferred bidder.
“Work is currently underway at Little Cairnie Hospital as part of the site clearance process.”
The 2.2 hectare site is mainly flat and NHS Tayside has engaged with contractors to demolish some existing buildings.
Little Cairnie Hospital Lodge is under private ownership and is not included as part of the sale.
The sale brochure states the site would have the potential to have a capacity of 43 residential units.
Ballantynes director Rory Ballantyne said: “The site is still currently going through the legal process and is as such is still under offer. The work on site is work being undertaken on NHS Tayside’s behalf.”
The hospital was built at the start of the 20th century as an epidemic hospital to treat infectious diseases.
The plans at the time caused concern among people who lived near the 35-bed hospital and some town councillors argued that it was located too close to the town.
However, the council assured residents it was the best location available and all “difficulties and dangers” had been considered.
A newspaper report from 1899 stated: “The authorities have wisely provided that there shall be room for free play of all the winds of heaven round the hospital and a belt of trees is also to be planted in the open ground round the buildings.”
Members of the public were first given the chance to inspect the finished building in May 1904 by caretaker Thomas Phin.
