Health chiefs are within days of coming up with the best site for a new Wharfedale General Hospital.

A specially chosen group of health representatives has spent the last few weeks placing in order of importance the requirements for the chosen site - including whether it is a popular local choice and its accessibility by public transport.

Now the six-strong team, taken from the Leeds Health Authority, the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and the new Primary Care Groups (PCGs), are shortly expected to come up with the site that best fulfils all the requirements.

Once the preferred site has been chosen - either in Otley, at the current site in Newall Carr Road, on land next to Garnett's mill off Pool Road, or at Menston at the High Royds Hospital site - the health trust will have to seek private backing through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

Mike Ramsden, who was named chief executive of Leeds Health Authority last month, said yesterday that the best site would be known possibly within the next week.

But he added more discussions would have to take place with local MPs and other bodies before the site could be revealed, probably in early summer and ahead of more public consultation.

"We have asked the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to analyse the site options prior to further consultations. There are a lot of stages to go through yet but the first of these stages should be within the next week or so," he said.

He realised that people wanted to know that work on a new hospital was progressing but he could not say whether work would actually start in June next year, as had originally been suggested.

But he added that the health authority was still firmly committed to providing a new hospital for the people of Wharfedale.

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