LOCAL people flocked to Prudhoe last weekend to get a sneak peek of a much-anticipated flagship housing development in the town.

Three show homes at Gentoo Homes’ Cottier Grange development, which is on the old Prudhoe hospital site, were unveiled during its launch weekend on January 21 and 22.

Gentoo staff said just under 200 people showed up to look around the homes and get a glimpse of how the site is changing.

The old hospital site, which had been derelict for around 13 years before building work started, was originally opened as a residential ‘colony’ for people with learning difficulties in 1914.

In 1948, it became part of the new National Health Service as Prudhoe Hospital, and by the 70s, it was the fifth-largest mental health hospital in the country, with nearly 1,000 staff and 1,500 patient beds.

The developer said it had tried to retain some of the site’s history while giving it a new lease of life.

For example, Gentoo chose to name the development Cottier Grange after Scottish artist and designer Daniel Cottier, who designed the feature stained glass window in the Grade II-listed Prudhoe Hall.

Towards the end of the development, the plan is to refurbish Prudhoe Hall into 13 or 14 luxury apartments.

And the developer is currently in the process of deciding on street names, with the input of Prudhoe Town Council.

Suggestions relate to the site’s surroundings or facilities which used to stand on the grounds.

The three show homes available to view by the public are the five bedroom Warkworth, the three bedroom Langley and the four bedroom Mitford.

The houses are all named after Northumberland castles.

And the show homes have been designed by local interior designer Danielle Quinn.

Head of sales and marketing at Gentoo, Kye Bradley, said: “A lot of show homes can be very grey, but this is moving it to the next step.

“I would say if people are interested in what has happened to the hospital site, this is a good opportunity to come along and have a look around. We’ve had a really positive response.

There was a bit of a mix of people who came along to the open weekend. There were local people from Prudhoe, but then people from areas of Newcastle and the likes of Blaydon.”

Cottier Grange will have 404 three, four and five bedroomed homes, with some available at a discounted rate for local people.

The full project is expected to take in the region of eight to 10 years, but with work gathering pace, the developer said it expected that the first homes to be completed would be ready for move-ins within a month. The Cottier Grange show homes are open to members of the public from 10am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays, and 11am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays.