Property developer PJ Livesey Group has been given a go-ahead from City of York Council to deliver the £65m Retreat residential scheme on Heslington Road.
Under the plan, the former specialist mental health care facility will be converted into 120 homes, ranging from one to five bedrooms.
The homes will sit alongside communal facilities, including a recreation hall and a heritage walk. The scheme will also be surrounded by a peace and tranquillity garden, orchard and tennis court.
Previously closed off to the public, the historic park and gardens will be restored and opened up for the local community.
Work is expected to start on site in early 2025 with the first homes available in 2026.
Founded in 1796 by the Quakers, the Retreat was providing pioneering psychiatric care to the community for over 220 years before the main buildings closed in 2018.
PJ Livesey Group has worked closely with Historic England throughout the planning process.
Tom Frater, regional director for the North East and Yorkshire at Historic England, said: “PJ Livesey Group’s plans for the Retreat show heritage helping to address the housing crisis, while also protecting York’s character and making its grounds, which integrated access to landscape into the treatment of mental health, accessible to local people and visitors.
“We recognise the need to build more houses and we know that heritage can help. Up to 670,000 homes could be created from the repurposing of existing historic buildings in England such as the Retreat.”
Georgina Lynch, managing director at PJ Livesey, said: “Our vision for the Retreat plays homage to its heritage with the development designed to create spaces for wellness and tranquillity both within the homes and the surrounding gardens.”
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Photo © PJ Livesey
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