High levels of investment will be needed to keep Shipley Hospital open as the building is not fit for purpose, a report has found.

Around £500,000 is required to bring the first-floor of the hospital back into use, after it closed almost two years ago, and the building, in Kirkgate, has a maintenance backlog totalling £60,000, it claims.

The report, which will be discussed by members of Bradford Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee at a meeting on Wednesday, also states NHS Bradford and Airedale, which owns the freehold of the building, spent £115,000 during the last financial year on urgent fire safety improvements to keep it open.

A further £30,000 was spent addressing health and safety risks.

Only the ground floor of the three-storey building, which dates back to 1863, remains in use, providing X-ray services, outpatient clinics, bereavement counselling, physiotherapy and occupational therapy services.

The first floor, which was used as an 18-bed community hospital, was closed due to insufficient emergency evacuation procedures.

The report states: “While the building is generally in an acceptable physical condition, the age of the structure will require high levels of investment in the future to maintain the hospital in an operational condition.

“The hospital falls short of the required standard in terms of functional suitability, space utilisation, statutory compliance and the quality of environment it offers to patients.”

Issues include an inadequate waiting area, poor provision for people with disabilities, too few car parking spaces and lack of storage facilities.

Operating the hospital with the first and second floors closed is poor value for money and the level of investment required needs to be considered in relation to its limited capacity for improvement, the report states.