A former English football ground is set to be demolished and converted into an NHS health facility. The York Street stadium, once the home of Boston United, is scheduled to be redeveloped into a Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC).
The Pilgrims called the ground home between 1933 and 2020 before moving to the Boston Community Stadium. The club enjoyed EFL football at the venue from 2002 until 2007, when they were relegated from League Two. The pitch famously hosted England legend Paul Gascoigne, who joined as a player-coach in 2004 under manager Steve Evans. Gazza sought to breathe new life into his career but remained with the club for only a matter of months before departing to pursue his coaching aspirations, with Boston proving to be his final English club.
The former Spurs and Everton midfielder described it as ‘one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make in my professional career so far’ upon his exit. Gascoigne subsequently planned to attend a Football Association course led by Sammy Lee. The stadium was briefly occupied by Railway Athletic FC following Boston’s departure, but has lain unused since 2022. The site has since been acquired by United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Plans are in place to transform the ground into a Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) to speed up the diagnosis of health conditions for residents in the area. The facility is expected to open by 2027 at a cost of £24.9million.
Surveyors Poyntons Consultancy, who oversaw the sale, described it as a landmark moment for the town. They said: “We are delighted to have played such an important role in completing the sale of the York Street site.
“This is a landmark project for Boston, and being able to help bring forward a development that will deliver lasting, positive benefits for the town.”
The CDC is projected to serve approximately 350 patients daily, relieving pressure on local hospital services. Daren Fradgley, of Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group, said: “This marks the start of the next exciting chapter of our Lincolnshire Community Diagnostic Centre Programme.
“Community diagnostic centres make it quicker and easier to access the tests patients need as part of their care.
“The feedback we’ve had from patients about our community diagnostic centres in Grantham, Lincoln and Skegness has been overwhelmingly positive and we hope to replicate this in Boston.
“We want to be ambitious with the opportunities that we have to deliver care differently and make access to care better for patients.”
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This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
