by Linzi Watson

Last updated at 13:48, Friday, 22 January 2010

Brampton is a town in “limbo” while delayed plans for a new health facility rumble on, says city council leader Mike Mitchelson.

Lawrence Fisher: ‘They should try reducing the hours first’

Speaking at a public meeting in the town, Brampton councillor Mr Mitchelson and county councillor Lawrence Fisher said the whole town is becoming increasingly frustrated over a lack of action on the new all-encompassing health facility – which still has no site despite being first promised over two years ago.

Proposals for the new “health campus” combining the town’s ageing Moot Lodge nursing home, community cottage hospital and doctors surgery were first announced in 2007.

There has since been public consultation on the plans and options for the site have been narrowed down to either Union Lane or Kingwater on the edge of town – owned by Cumbria County Council and Carlisle City Council respectively.

The future of Brampton Community Centre, run by Brampton Community Association from the site at Union Lane, is therefore uncertain.

At a meeting in the town on Monday night Clare Poulter of Community Ventures, the group leading the plans alongside the Primary Care Trust, said that work was ongoing towards planning for the new facility.

She said that the team were now working towards creating a new health centre in Cockermouth first as a priority because of the recent flooding but added that Brampton was “next”.

But Mr Mitchelson said: “When the plans were first announced two years ago there was excitement and everyone believed it.

“But there is great frustration because the doctors are in limbo, the hospital is in limbo and the community association is in limbo. Everyone needs to know what the plans are going forward so that they can make their own plans.”

Ms Poulter told the meeting that the project suffered delays initially because the government funding from the department of health became unavailable. A lift company, which will now fund the project as part of a public private partnership, was appointed in November.

Ms Poulter said: “The PCT is treating Brampton as a priority but Cockermouth is the absolute priority.

“It doesn’t look as though there is much going on at the moment but there is. We have done a lot of work looking at designs.”

She added: “I understand local people want to know ‘when?’ – frankly the answer is ‘next’ but until we have Cockermouth done I am not sure when that is going to be because we are determined that we want to get Cockermouth right.”

But Mr Fisher said: “Surely you cannot progress until you know what site the facility is going on.”

First published at 14:11, Friday, 15 January 2010
Published by http://www.bramptonlocal.co.uk