PARTNERS in the scheme to build a new hospital for Selby have welcomed funding proposals announced by the district council.

The scheme is being carried out in partnership with York and North Yorkshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), York Hospitals Trust, Selby MP John Grogan, North Yorkshire County Council and local GPs. Selby District Council revealed its plans to take out an £8 million loan to help fund a new hospital building, next to the current Selby War Memorial Hospital, in Doncaster Road.

Council leader Mark Crane said the old hospital could then be demolished, making way for new office buildings to house district and county council workers.

Mr Grogan said: "This is a marvellous example of local authorities cooperating on a large project."

But he stressed that the project would also require funding from other sources.

"I want the best possible hospital for Selby - one which is a worthy replacement for the War Memorial," he said.

"I want a Rolls Royce hospital, not a cut price hospital."

"There will be two aspects to the funding.

"The district council will borrow money which they can then repay with an income stream guaranteed by the office rents from the county council, and the lease on the hospital from the PCT.

"But to get a Rolls Royce facility, so to speak, we need a grant from the Government's community hospital funding programme.

"It's worth noting that district council taxpayers don't pay a penny towards this. That is, they won't be paying a penny more than they would have been anyway."

A spokesman for the PCT said all the partners in the Selby Hospital scheme were sourcing their own funding, on top of that which could be obtained from a £750 million Government capital fund for community hospitals.

He said the PCT would be presenting a bid for a chunk of the fund to the Yorkshire And Humber Strategic Health Authority - the agency responsible for allocating our region's share of the £750 million - in November.

"This development will enable all of us to work more effectively together to deliver better services for Selby," he said. "Local authorities and the NHS recognise that, by working together, we can offer our residents better services that are easier to access.

"We've got a great opportunity in Selby to make sure this happens in order to benefit the whole community."

"The project group tasked with putting these plans together is currently looking at how the process can best be funded. There are a number of key issues which will have to be addressed by the project group as the plans develop, so we do not yet have finalised proposals in place for the new site."