PLANS to build a £21m mental health hospital in north Durham have been given the go-ahead by local primary care trusts.

Derwentside PCT and Durham and Chester-le-Street PCT signed off plans for the new development at recent board meetings.

The new hospital, to be built on the outskirts of Durham city, will replace the outdated County Hospital in Durham and the Allensford Ward at Shotley Bridge.

The development will be designed to provide a safe, homely and therapeutic environment for people experiencing mental health problems. The new unit will provide inpatient beds as well as a range of other services.

Sandy Taylor, chief executive of County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust, said: "This is excellent news. People experiencing mental health problems should be cared for in an environment that has been designed to meet their needs.

"A new hospital for the north of the county will really complement the investment in community-based services and ensure service users receive inpatient care in a state-of-the-art unit."

The Tony White Unit in the County Hospital in Durham, has recently stopped taking in new admissions and people who need intensive psychiatric care will be treated in the newly-opened West Park Hospital, in Darlington.

The unit in Durham was due to close on March 31.

Andrew Young, chief executive of Durham and Chester-le-Street PCT, said: "Both PCTs are committed to modernising and improving local mental health services and looking at ways to ensure the continued development of all our health services.

"The new hospital in north Durham will provide a modern and safe environment for people with mental health problems."

Proposals for the new facility were drawn up following a three-month public consultation last year.

Patients and carers, local councillors and voluntary groups were involved in reviewing options and choosing the preferred location of the new hospital.

The plans will now go to County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority for approval.

If given the go-ahead, more detailed work on the design of the hospital can begin and the new facility could be open by the end of 2007