The legal agreement for a new 54-bed adult inpatient secure mental health unit in Stevenage has finally been signed off, more than a year after planning permission for the development was granted.

The specialist unit, provided by the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, will be built on land east of the A602 and south of Graveley Road in Stevenage, close to Lister Hospital.

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The planning application says the NHS had "identified an acute need for the facility," and the new unit will ensure "a balanced provision of adult mental health beds between the east and west of the county".

It will “increase bed provision to address ongoing bed pressures and reduce need for out-of-Trust beds”, it says, providing acute care in surroundings which will include courtyards, social spaces, quiet zones and a therapy zone.