Stanford Hall soldier rehab centre plans on show
Plans to turn an East Midlands stately home into a centre for injured soldiers are to go on display.
Stanford Hall, near Loughborough on the Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire border, could become a Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC).
Proposals will go on show during a consultation period which begins on 7 July, with a planning application to be submitted in November.
If the government gives the project its approval the centre will open in 2017.
The DNRC, which would be largely funded from charitable donations, hopes to provide help for about 300 patients at a time.
Marine Alex Brewer, 22, from Sutton in Ashfield, who lost his leg while serving in Afghanistan, said the new facility would make a big difference.
"The more rehab centres you've got, the more chance people have got to getting the treatment they need especially because there's limited centres for Ministry of Defence personnel," he said.
"With more people coming in, you've got to increase the amount of treatment centres nationwide."
The estate was purpose-bought by the Duke of Westminster in October 2011 for the redevelopment scheme.
A spokesman for the DNRC programme said they are hoping to get planning approval from Rushcliffe Borough Council by November 2013 and the final go ahead from government ministers in 2014.
Military rehabilitation is currently undertaken at Headley Court in Surrey which opened in 1947 to treat RAF crew.