Springfield Village – How to Build for Health

Always on the lookout for redevelopment projects that align housing and placemaking with improving health outcomes, I was intrigued to tour Springfield Village in south London last week, thanks to the London Society This is an example of how to Build for Health.

Located between Tooting Bec and Earlsfield stations in the London Borough of Wandsworth, Springfield Village is an 82-acre site of new parkland, housing and health facilities centred around the historic Springfield University Hospital. The parkland, recently opened by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, is the biggest new park to be created in the capital since the 2012 Olympics.

It's been developed through a partnership between South West London & St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust and STEP, a joint venture between Kajima Partnerships and Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures. What’s impressive is its vision: “a community built around mental health care, with inclusive housing and open space, designed to destigmatise mental illness and reconnect the NHS site with its local area”.

The destigmatisation and reconnection objectives are foundational, possibly unique features of the development, and are borne out of a history going back to Victorian times when mental health facilities were called “lunatic asylums” and “madhouses”. These places were kept intentionally separate and removed from neighbourhoods and urban centres. What had once been the Victorian era Surrey Council Pauper Lunatic Asylum, built in 1840 and later to become Springfield Hospital, is now a fully redeveloped and preserved residential complex – appropriately named 1840 by the heritage developer City and Country, who took on the project.

This magnificent building owes its existence to the County Asylums Act of 1808 which permitted, but did not compel, justices of the peace to provide establishments for the care of “pauper lunatics”, so that they could be removed from workhouses and prison. English counties were slow to respond, and by 1827 only nine had been built, with the mentally ill continuing to live in the streets, in workhouses or in private “madhouses”.In 1838 the Surrey magistrates finally decided to establish a county asylum for the mentally ill poor.  

To this end, they purchased Springfield Park for £8,985 from Mr Henry Perkins (1779-1855), a wealthy brewer and partner in the firm of Barclay Perkins, who had decided to move to Dover.  The estate, with 97 acres of land, was considered an ideal location for the asylum because of its nearness to population centres, its southerly aspect and clean air, and a suitable water supply.  Springfield Park contained an 18th century mansion house, stables and a coach house, as well as farm buildings.  By 1840 construction had been completed.  It was the 15th asylum to be built in England.

Stigma and separation continued for over a century, as the Springfield Asylum evolved into a war hospital and became part of the NHS in 1948, continuing its focus on delivering mental health services in a safe, secure location.  Among its many features developed in this period was a working farm, where patients worked in its orchards, poultries, kitchen gardens, dairy and piggeries. This continued until the mid 1950s, when the farm was closed and its site developed into a school and a golf course.

By the 1990s in-patient mental health care was reduced as part of a shift in government policy to “deinstitutionalisation” and, while many former asylums closed, Springfield adjusted to these changes and increased its out-patient clinics and support services. In 1994 the Hospital became part of the Pathfinder Mental Health Services NHS Trust, which changed its name in 1999 to the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

Over the following decade, the Trust grew its outpatient programmes but also recognised the need for investment in smaller, focused in-patient units, both at Springfield and at its other site in Tolworth in Surbiton. Funding for these units could be generated from the large site at Springfield, and the Springfield Park project was born, receiving planning permission from Wandsworth Council in 2012.

Supporting local residents in their mental health through Care in the Community programmes for nearly three decades underpinned the trust’s vision for Springfield Village. As the NHS Trust commented at the development’s launch in 2023:

“For too long, large parts of the NHS mental health estate have been isolated from the communities they serve, reflecting outdated, stigma-laden attitudes to mental ill health from years gone by. Springfield Hospital in Wandsworth is changing and is now part of a new stigma-breaking community called Springfield Village”

The Trust CEO described the vision for Springfield Village:

“By creating homes and parks alongside our hospitals, it creates a greater understanding of mental health and makes it less frightening. I really hope that will bring people forward to get help earlier. The earlier you get support with your mental health, the less likely you ever are to come into hospital. We have got a real opportunity to genuinely transform mental health and wellbeing for south west London.

Fast forward to today and this theme is manifested throughout the development, from the open and accessible green and blue spaces to the provision of mental health training and support for all residents.

The two new NHS in-patient facilities, called Trinity and Shaftesbury, form the hub of Chapel Square, a publicly accessible area with two cafes, a care home and a community space in the hospital’s former chapel.

From here several pathways lead through new housing to Springfield Park, a 32-acre publicly accessible parkland which has been redesigned from what was the former golf course – and features wetland areas, wildflower meadows, a café and an amphitheatre. Much of this was developed using reclaimed materials from the demolition of pre-existing buildings on the site.

1,288 new homes are planned by 2028, representing an uplift of 400+ granted by the Mayor of London last year. Housing providers are Barratt and London Square, with 20% deemed affordable via social rent and shared ownership.

A Springfield Park Community Fund has been established, allocating £75,000 over three years to support community-led projects based in the park. Local community groups can apply for a small grant (up to £5k) to deliver “inclusive, community-driven projects that promote wellbeing, connection, and nature”.

I was impressed with how the project has brought together housing, healthcare, public space, and local amenities in a coordinated approach to development. It illustrates how multi-sector partnerships can deliver large-scale, socially conscious and healthy environments that meet the complex needs of both residents and the wider public. 

But what was most impressive to me was the sustained energy, enthusiasm and commitment of the partners themselve – SWLSTG NHS Trust and STEP, many of whose staff have been involved in the project from the beginning. Their vision and commitment to it was palpable, and remarkable given the changes in the NHS and government that have happened around them during the life of the project.

Springfield Village gives me hope that we can Build for Health. Go see for yourself!

Clare Delmar

Listen to Locals

28 July 2025