Hospital rebuild is our most pressing need, council told
THE poor state of Airedale Hospital is the “most pressing problem” in the Keighley constituency, a councillor has claimed.
A Government decision on a bid to rebuild the hospital has still not been made, despite the proposal being submitted in September 2021.
Keighley MP Robbie Moore said he would be stepping up efforts to push the Government for the funding.
But he has been criticised for failing to take Rishi Sunak to see the state of the hospital on the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Keighley.
The Steeton hospital was built in the early 1970s with much of the building constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, a material weaker than normal concrete and which initially had a lifespan of 30 years.
A recent report found some areas of the roof required urgent structural support.
In 2021 it was announced that the Act As One health and care partnership that covers Bradford District and Craven had bid for Government funding that would see a rebuild of Airedale Hospital on its current site to create Europe’s first carbon- neutral hospital.
It was accompanied by bids to rebuild Lynfield Mount to develop a new acute inpatient facility and replace Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke’s Hospital with a purposebuilt hospital on a single site.
An announcement on the funding was expected from Government last spring although no decision has yet been made.
At a meeting of Bradford Council, Keighley councillor Caroline Firth (Lab) criticised Mr Moore for failing to take the Prime Minister to the hospital on his recent visit to Keighley.
Mr Sunak visited Keighley on Monday January 9 – and along with Mr Moore was taken on a tour of the head office of Teconnex, a manufacturing company.
At the council meeting, Coun Firth asked for the latest news on the push for a hospital rebuild.
She was told the council and the Act As One Partnership were lobbying to “obtain the necessary funding to address the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete issue”.
Coun Firth said: “Will you agree with me that Airedale Hospital is the most pressing problem in the constituency and do you share my disappointment that our local MP failed to take Rishi Sunak there when the Prime Minister visited the constituency?”
Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe agreed the state of the hospital was the most pressing issue, adding: “I’ve been up on the roof to look at the state of it. It needs replacing – it is the worst example in the country and after all these years it has still not been replaced.
“I don’t know what the Government are thinking. We desperately need investment to go into Airedale Hospital. Leadership there do an amazing job keeping things going.
“To deliver this hospital I think we’ll need to wait for a Labour government.”
Mr Moore said a rebuild was needed “now more than ever” and vowed to fight for the hospital.