THE end of an era - controlled burning on AltonÕs once prestigious Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital site could be seen for miles around last Wednesday night as, blown by a strong wind, the blaze sent flames soaring to light up the night sky.
Struck by the sad injustice of this Òapocalyptic sceneÓ, district councillor Jerry Janes was among those to question the wisdom of destroying such a hospital, and not least two new £4m state-of-the-art operating theatres, at a time when local patients are being sent abroad for elective surgery.
It was a question raised during a recent BBC South Southern Eye documentary which looked at the state of the NHS and with it the demise of Treloar Hospital.
Interviews were conducted with local campaigner, Luath Grant Ferguson, and consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Richard Browne, both of whom were forceful in their condemnation of the closure and current demolition of the hospital.
Mr Browne had already told The Herald: ÒI am outraged that money is being spent on sending patients abroad for operations when they could have been treated in Alton.Ó
In discussing the matter on the evening after the blaze, Alton town councillors asked Mr Janes about the legality of such a fire on a demolition site.
Further investigation revealed that while Hampshire Fire and Rescue had been notified that material was to be burnt as part of the demolition exercise and that personnel and equipment would be on site to monitor and control the blaze, East Hampshire District CouncilÕs building control department had not granted permission for the fire.
According to a spokesman for the department, although some fires can be justified, burning on site had not been included within the conditions of demolition consent.
Having spoken to the department himself, deputy town clerk Greg Burt, is asking people to contact EHDC if further burning occurs. He has also secured an assurance that the contractors would be taking more care over cleaning up any mud from the road.
Councillor Paddy Mendham, who is general manager for the neighbouring REHAB
Centre, is disgusted by what he sees as the site developerÕs attitude towards the community. ÒSince starting on the site they have treated Alton with nothing but contempt - they are not interested in the public good,Ó said Mr Mendham who cited not only the fire - about which the neighbours were not informed, but recent incidents of cutting through electricity cables which had blacked out the area for hours on end, and the Òterrible stateÓ of Chawton Park Road.
Alton Sports Centre manager Sarah Hart was of similar mind but, she added, the men working on the site were not to blame. They used the sports centre cafe for lunch breaks and were very pleasant, even taking off their boots before entering the building!
In her opinion, it was not the workforce but management who had a lot to answer for.