The first specialist eye hospital in Yorkshire has attracted £1 million of funding from the Co-operative Bank.

Work is almost complete converting the building at Harrogate Road, Apperley Bridge, which will become the Yorkshire Eye Hospital and equipment is being installed.

When opens in January it will be the first hospital of its kind to be developed and run by a large group of eye specialists.

The 18 consultants from Bradford, Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield and Harrogate have come together because they wanted to improve eye surgery for people in the region.

Bruce Noble, chairman of the Yorkshire Eye Hospital and a consultant surgeon in Leeds, said: "In addition to treating private patients, the hospital will be able to offer valuable additional capacity for the NHS to help handle the large numbers of eye-cases needing treatment. We expect our activity to grow quickly to help meet the burgeoning needs of the region's patients. We have also had expressions of interest from GPs and Primary Care Trusts seeking to improve patient choice and help ease waiting times."

Guided by Paul Edmonds, corporate manager in the bank's business development team, the loan helped the specialists buy and convert the 10,000 sq ft freehold premises and install two high-tech operating theatres.

Mr Edmonds said: "The consultants behind Yorkshire Eye Hospital Ltd produced a very comprehensive business plan which immediately struck us as an exciting and worthwhile project."

The hospital will offer diagnosis and treatment on a day-care basis for a eye problems.