Health bosses have backed plans by campaigners in Ludlow for a new £30 million community hospital.

Shropshire County PCT has asked West Midlands Strategic Health Authority for cash to redevelop Ludlow Hospital. The PCT has been in talks with the Department for Health about the possibility of developing a community venture.

And it is waiting to see whether the department will go ahead with this type of initiative.

Meanwhile, an alternative opportunity to obtain funding for the new hospital has come about, by making a bid for traditional NHS capital money from the SHA.

Residents, GPs, the PCT and the local authority have been working together on proposals for the development of services in Ludlow and South West Shropshire.Today PCT chief executive, Jo Chambers, said: “We are committed to developing services and will keep all options open until it is clear which is the best route to secure funding.

“We have now been given approval to start work on the first stage of a detailed business case called a Strategic Outline Case, and expect to complete this work over the next six months or so.

“Developing our community hospitals is a key part of our plans for healthcare in Shropshire.

“We are working with others in Ludlow, including the council and GP colleagues, to develop joined up services to benefit patients.”

Ludlow MP Philip Dunne, who has been working with the PCT and community leaders in support of plans to redevelop Ludlow Community Hospital, added that he was pleased.

He said: “I am pleased that the PCT has got the green light to put together a formal business case. I hope this will share the community’s vision for enhanced services and GP practices co-located with the hospital.

“I think we should be bold in looking to add services which meet the current and foreseeable needs of patients, in particular given the ageing demographics of south Shropshire.”

Plans for a new community hospital in Ludlow have been welcomed by health campaigners in the town, who successfully staved off an aborted plan to close the hospital. Peter Corfield, chairman of the friends of Ludlow Hospital, said new facilities for residents would be good news.