Consett Community hospital plans are approved

The new community hospital in Consett will replace the existing one in Shotley Bridge

Plans have been approved for a "long awaited" new community hospital.

It is hoped the multimillion-pound facility at Derwent View, Consett, will open in 2025.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said the new building would replace the Shotley Bridge hospital.

As plans were approved, managers at the trust said the development was "critical" for people living in Derwentside.

It is expected construction will start later this year.

It will include inpatient beds and an outpatient unit, along with chemotherapy and diagnostic services.

Details of the scheme were added to a list of 40 new hospitals by Boris Johnson in October 2020 - which the former prime minister confirmed would be built by 2030.

Hanna Hardy from NHS Property Services said the team were "excited" to deliver a new community hospital "to enable clinical colleagues to deliver excellent patient care".

Jane Curry, programme manager at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This is a very important milestone in this long awaited development for the population of Derwentside, and the critical part this facility plays in the wider community healthcare infrastructure in County Durham."