DETAILS of a £6.5 million purpose-built community hospital in Barnard Castle were revealed on Wednesday.

Durham Dales Primary Care Trust plans to demolish the Community Health Centre in Victoria Road and use the site for a brand-new 48-bed hospital to replace the town's existing Richardson Hospital.

It is anticipated that the new hospital will be up and running by early 2007.

The three-storey hospital will have 3,500 sq m of floor space and provide all the existing Richardson Hospital's facilities as well as additional out-patient services.

Members of Teesdale District Council welcomed the plans when trust chief executive Andrew Kenworthy presented them at Wednesday's meeting.

Coun Ken Robinson said: "This is a massive step forward for health provision in Teesdale and Barnard Castle and we should congratulate the PCT and the Government for making this possible.

"This is the biggest investment in healthcare provision in Teesdale since the NHS was started."

However, on Wednesday evening Barnard Castle Town Council commended the idea of the new hospital, but had reservations about traffic management and parking.

The proposal would create a one-way traffic system around the site.

Councillors were particularly worried about a house which would be surrounded by access roads.

Coun Pam Grunwell said: "I am concerned about the position of Summer Lea in the centre of the flow of traffic."

Coun Alan Wilkinson said the house was being treated as a traffic island in the one-way system.

"It is a rather callous treatment of a residence. It is rather hard."

Members also felt there should be more parking provided on the site, particularly for disabled people.

The plans show that the ground floor will house the out-patients and dentistry departments along with a landscaped central courtyard.

The existing hospital's mortuary will be demolished and moved to the ground floor of the new building.

The first floor will contain a 24-bed ward and staff offices, with an identical second ward on the top floor.

In later years, the design allows for extra rooms to be built on the second floor although Mr Kenworthy said they did not have available finances for expansion.

"Developing a community hospital like this is stretching us to the limits of our financial capability," he said, "The finances are very, very tight."

If the proposals are approved, the health centre will be demolished in August with work on the new hospital beginning in September.

The health centre's services will be moved to the existing Richardson Hospital while work is taking place.