IT HAS taken years to plan – but the idea of having a new hospital built in the borough seems more remote than ever.

Last week, purse-string holders in the NHS poured cold water over the idea of building a new critical treatment centre on land near North Waltham.

The proposed £150million hospital would have 24-hour consultant care, as well as a £18.5million cancer treatment unit.

The North and West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Groups, which pay trusts like Hampshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to provide health services, effectively said the plans were too costly.

They decided it was not ready to go to a formal consultation, and said it would review all options for how patient care can be provided in an area that stretches from Basingstoke to Andover and Winchester.

Since then, plenty of people have had their say, including Christine Rowley, from the North Waltham Action Group, as we report on page five, and leading politicians, such as Cllr Stephen Reid, on this letters page.

The trust has vowed to press ahead with its plan, which will go before planners at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council next week.

Certainly it is right to scrutinise its funding – nobody would want to see public money wasted if there was a better solution.

But equally, the costs of building a new hospital are bound to go up by such a delay, if the CCGs do decide, after a review, that the new hospital is indeed the best way forward.

With thousands of new homes due to be built in this town, one hopes that the powers-that-be come up with a healthcare strategy in an efficient and public manner.