The site of a vacant Victorian hospital which has lain derelict for more than a decade will see the development of more than 500 homes.

The site of a vacant Victorian hospital which has lain derelict for more than a decade will see the development of more than 500 homes.

Two major housebuilders are to tie up the acquisition of the 40-acre former Ruchill Hospital in Glasgow this month before embarking on the £50m development.

The plans involve the restoration and refurbishment of some key listed buildings on the site of the former infectious diseases hospital.

Gladedale and Bellway, the developers behind the plans, have billed it as one of the most significant new housing projects in Glasgow over the next five years.

Many in the area had hoped any scheme on the hospital site would have included social accommodation and had mounted a campaign in support of the idea.

However, the rapid escalation of land prices in the Ruchill area has put the development beyond the price range of most of the housing associations.

In the past few years, the district, generally considered one of Glasgow's most deprived areas, has witnessed an upturn in fortunes.

Tenement properties have also been demolished and a social housing rebuilding programme is under way in parts of Ruchill.

A planning application for the project is to be submitted early this year and it is hoped work will begin on-site in 2009.

The Ruchill development will be the third hospital site redevelopment project to be undertaken by Gladedale in the west of Scotland in the near future.

It is also building at Broomhill Hospital in Kirkintilloch and the former Law Hospital near Carluke in Lanarkshire.

The £50m Broomhill scheme will create 13 apartments, while the rest of the site will become family homes.

It is hoped work will start in early 2009.

Crawford Copstick, managing director of Gladedale, said: "This is an outstanding regeneration opportunity and our development will play a key role in the continuing revitalisation of this part of North Glasgow."

Ann McKechin, Glasgow North MP, had supported the calls for an element of social housing on the site but said she welcomed progress on the site.

She said: "No-one wants the site to remain derelict and I would have wanted social housing here but land prices in part have prevented that happening.

"But I still hope more land can be unlocked for further social housing developments."