Cambian Healthcare are inviting people to attend the exhibition so company bosses can explain changes they have made to the Aspen House Rehabilitation Hospital on Manvers Road.

The facility opened in 2004 as a treatment facility for up to 42 patients with mental illnesses, including those sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

But residents living near the facility have long protested that patients pose a security risk to the local community, an allegation Cambian Healthcare has firmly denied.

The company will now hold a public exhibition at the Army Cadet Force Centre, Manvers Road, on Monday (March 31) between 2pm and 8pm where they will explain more about the Aspens facility.

In a letter to nearby residents, Cambian Healthcare's Chief Operating Officer Mike McQuaid said: "We are aware of previous concerns that have been expressed about the Aspen House Rehabilitation Hospital by both residents and elected representatives locally.

"In light of these concerns we have made substantial changes to the unit both in terms of its appearance externally and the day to day operation and occupation.

"Cambian is therefore holding a public exhibition which will give us the opportunity to tell you about Cambian Healthcare and discuss the changes we have made to the centre.

"We also hope it will allow us to dispel any concerns you may have following some of the concerns that have been raised previously."

But Jill Arkley-Jevons, who has been leading the protests against the company, maintained that the exhibition was too little, too late.

She said: "They should have held an event like this before they even proposed to open the facility to see what the reaction of the community to it would be like.

"Then we could have voiced all our concerns to them about the school, play area and safety of the community before they even opened it."
Residents were due to hold a meeting last night to decide whether or not to attend the exhibition.

The future of the centre still hangs in the balance nearly four years after it was opened due to a long-running legal dispute between Cambian and Doncaster Council.

In 2006 the council ordered Cambian to close down the facility for breach of planning regulations as the company had not sought permission to change the buildings use from an old people's care home to a mental health hospital.

The council's decision was upheld by the independent Planning Inspectorate later that year when Planning Inspector Paul Taylor declared that the unit's negative impact on local residents outweighed the need for mental health provision in the area.

Cambian Healthcare was given 12 months to close the Aspens but instead they challenged the decision in the High Court and in 2007 their appeal was upheld, forcing the court to order a second inquiry by the Planning Inspectorate.

This fresh public inquiry will now take place at the Danum Hotel in Doncaster on April 29, starting at 10am.