Fresh warnings over the future of Aberdeen’s historic Woolmanhill Hospital have been sounded by the city’s Medico-Chirurgical Society, as the deteriorating state of the landmark re-emerged in a viral online video. Council officials insist they are “actively looking” for a solution, yet visible action remains elusive, and frustration is mounting among medical and heritage advocates.
Medical Society Speaks Out
Members of the Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society have repeatedly expressed grave concerns over the fate of Woolmanhill Hospital, the city’s original Royal Infirmary. A representative told local reporters: “We are sitting on a goldmine of vintage medical material and heritage that deserves to be showcased, not left to decay in ruin.”
The appeal comes as video footage highlighting the collapsed floors, broken windows, and remnants of medical equipment has triggered renewed debate and public alarm across social media.
Viral Evidence: The State of the Building
A YouTube exploration video, “Scotland’s biggest abandoned hospital”, has surged in popularity, showing viewers the “dangerous, derelict” interiors, floors “falling through,” boarded-up windows, and growing vegetation on and inside the building. In the video, creator Dale John says: “The whole place is so dangerous and derelict after only six years. Inside is just dangerous, the floors are all falling through so we didn’t stay long at all, it’s mostly smashed-up rooms”.
Ownership and Redevelopment Inertia
Woolmanhill Hospital is owned by property developer CAF Properties, who purchased the complex from NHS Grampian after its closure in 2017. Ambitious £10 million plans to convert the A-listed site into a boutique hotel and luxury flats were unveiled in 2016 but mothballed during the pandemic.
A spokesperson for CAF Properties said in 2021 that they were “actively looking at various options to preserve this important piece of Aberdeen’s heritage”. However, since then, no further details have emerged for the future of the site.
Charlie Ferrari, director of CAF Properties, remains silent about current intentions, while Council planning chief David Dunne claimed in January: “We’ve had an ongoing dialogue with the developer… The developers want to see the site delivered as quickly as they can but they are beholden to the market.”
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Aberdeen City Council does not own Woolmanhill Hospital and admits its powers to force repair or sale are strictly limited. City officials state they cannot step in regarding the site’s worsening problems because the hospital is classified as private property. Thus, direct action beyond urging the owners to act is unavailable under current legislation.
Ongoing Frustration and Uncertain Future
Local representatives and heritage groups say visible progress has stalled, despite repeated council statements that developers are “actively looking” for alternative opportunities amid doubts about the viability of previous hotel and flat proposals. Transforming Woolmanhill into a medical museum has been floated, but no plans have been forthcoming.
The hospital, dating from the 1740s, is now a prominent symbol of Aberdeen’s wider struggle with derelict heritage buildings.
