THE campaign for Bootham Park Hospital to continue to be used for health or social care has received a boost with news that its sale has been put on hold.

York Central MP Rachael Maskell revealed the development today as she took the campaign into Parliament Street, where she won widespread support for the petition from shoppers.

The campaign backs calls by York Teaching Hospital and City of York Council to use the site to provide healthcare and affordable and social housing for NHS key-workers,as opposed to a sale of the land to the highest bidder by NHS Property Services.

Ms Maskell has been campaigning following the closure of the psychiatric hospital, where she says real solutions can be found to the challenges York is facing, from affordable housing for key NHS workers through to modern health and care facilities and a public park to enhance residents' health and wellbeing.

She said today: "We have been pulling all the health agencies together to ensure that we have a proposal to put towards Government, to re-build the health service across the city in a way that serves modern day purposes in health care.

"Whilst we are putting that proposal together for the Government to review, NHS Property Services, who own the property, have put a pause on the sale in order to review the real purpose. We want to see public land used for public good and this is a prime opportunity for York and for the future of healthcare.

"We have had an incredible response from people right across the city, signing petitions, signing the online petitions to save Bootham Park in order to ensure we can present this in Parliament, to make sure the voices of the people of York are heard on this issue.

She said the campaign was 'really winnable,' but added: "It's just so important that everybody works together, the whole city pulls together to ensure that we invest in healthcare for the future."

An online petition can be signed at saveboothampark.co.uk.

NHS Property Services has said previously that the site had been declared surplus to NHS needs by the local clinical commissioning group, although it was 'engaged with local partners on potential uses for the site.'