A PUBLIC meeting to discuss the future of a hospital that has already caused uproar will be held next week.

Civil leaders were prompted to organise the meeting after plans for a new £300m hospital at Wynyard were halted last month.

The Department of Health told North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust that its business plan to replace existing hospitals in Stockton and Hartlepool did not "add up".

It is likely that plans will not be finalised until after next May's general election. James Wharton, Stockton South MP, is fighting for the £50m to be invested in his local hospital instead.

The meeting will take place in the Town Hall Theatre, on Raby Road in Hartlepool, on Monday, November 24 at 5pm.

Foundation Trust representatives, including chief executive Alan Foster and chairman Paul Garvin, will give a half hour presentation before accepting questions from the audience.

Doors will open at 4.30pm and seats will be available on a first come, first served basis.