CAMPAIGNERS opposed to the closure of a community hospital are hoping to block any plans to sell it off for housing.

The inpatient ward at Shotley Bridge Hospital, near Consett, County Durham, was closed by health chiefs at the weekend.

It has sparked fears services are being eroded until the building is no longer viable and can be closed.

A petition to prevent its sale has already been signed by 500 people.

Pat Glass, MP for North-West Durham, said campaigners wanted Durham County Council to register the hospital as a community asset.

She said: “While this might not stop the sale it will buy us more time.

“We mean to make life as difficult as possible for those who wish to close our NHS services and they must know that they are in for a battle.

“In my view this is simply an excuse to cut back services and centre everything on University Hospital, Durham to cut costs.

“It is time for honesty on the part of the local health service, I shall be asking questions in Westminster as to how this situation has been allowed to unfold.”

NHS bosses said problems with the water supply were the reason behind the closure of the inpatient ward.

It is understood there are concerns over how long it would take to evacuate if a leak caused a power cut.

Kevin Earley, spokesman for The Shotley Bridge Hospital Support Group, said he believed this was the ‘end game’ in the fight to save the hospital.

He said: “We welcome anything that will stop or slow down this closure programme.

“Everybody has to realise this is the end game here. There is no doubt in our minds that the MP is right, that this closure and sale of land.”

Story Homes has already built 150 homes on a 31 acres site next to the hospital, with planning permission for a another 70 over the next three years.

Planning permission for the £40 million development was granted in 2012 after ten years of speculation, but the Cumbrian developer will not say whether further plans are in the pipeline.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said there was nothing to add, and Story Homes declined to comment when contacted by The Northern Echo.

A spokesman for Durham County Council said: “We would consider any petition in line with the council’s processes once it arrives.”