Ambulance station could be built at Ludlow's new hospital

A new ambulance station could be built at Ludlow's planned £27 million hospital as part of a bid to centralise healthcare services in the south of the county.

Martin Taylor-Smith, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for transport and IT services, said a planning application for a new ambulance station at Ludlow Eco Business Park was due to be submitted soon.

He made the announcement at a meeting of Shropshire Council's south planning committee yesterday, where outline proposals for the new hospital were unanimously approved.

Councillor Taylor-Smith said: "This new hospital will have 14 facilities the existing one does not have, including dialysis, which means people will no longer have to travel to Shrewsbury, Hereford or Worcester for treatment.

"There will be 160 parking spaces and a helipad, and there will shortly be an application submitted for a new ambulance station."

No-one from West Midlands Ambulance Service was available to comment on the claims.

The outline application for the hospital was approved subject to a conditions, including carrying out a visual impact assessment and a survey for great crested newts and creating a travel plan.

Cecilia Motley, Shropshire councillor for Corvedale, said: "It will be one of the most important community buildings that will be put up in south Shropshire for many a long year."

Peter Corfield, chairman of the League of Friends of Ludlow Hospital, said: "The new hospital is going to provide an absolutely outstanding quality of local healthcare and it is something which in Ludlow and the south west of the county has been long overdue."