Hospital build to go ahead following review

The long-awaited construction of a new hospital will begin within the next five years, the government has announced.

Regional health officials have received confirmation that the proposed Shotley Bridge Hospital in County Durham will be built after years of delays.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced in Parliament on Monday that the new Consett facility is within wave one of the revised New Hospital Programme.

He added that construction was expected to start between 2026-2027.

The 16-bed in-patient rehabilitation ward and urgent treatment centre would replace the current facility in Shotley Bridge.

The project, which received planning permission in 2023 and had been due to open in 2025, has been plagued by delays and inflated costs.

It was then placed under review by the new Labour government, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The pledge to build 40 new hospitals, launched by Boris Johnson's Conservative government in 2019, was last week described as "unachievable" by advisers.

Liz Twist, Labour MP for Blaydon and Consett, asked Mr Streeting whether residents can be confident of an "honest, realistic and deliverable timetable".

The Health Secretary replied: "I know residents will particularly welcome the investment in Shotley Bridge Community Hospital, starting construction in 2026-2027."

He also said the go ahead for 18 other hospitals in the country was to be delayed further.

The Conservatives said Streeting's announcement was another "broken" promise and accused the government of financial mismanagement.

Shadow Health Secretary Ed Agar said: "To govern is to choose, he [Streeting] has decided not to prioritise the delivery of new hospitals."

Streeting added that the "inherited" hospital programme was "unfunded and undeliverable".

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