DEVELOPERS have contacted NHS bosses hoping to buy St Luke's Hospital.

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust's director of estates, Steven Bannister, confirmed there had been a lot of interest in the Crosland Moor site.

The hospital is destined to close in a wave of health service changes.

Speaking to the Examiner after a meeting with the West Yorkshire Joint Health Scrutiny Committee at Huddersfield Town Hall yesterday Mr Bannister said the Blackmoorfoot Road site was a potential money-spinner for developers.

He added: "We have been approached by a considerable amount of people working on behalf of companies that are interested in buying this site.

"For them there are clear benefits. It could be potentially lucrative as housing, retail or any number of developments.

"However, at present, as the consultation continues, we are not in a position to discuss things with these companies much further."

Mr Bannister confirmed the money from any sale would go directly to paying for the proposed new site, almost directly opposite St Luke's at Acre Mills.

He said: "Obviously, we would not be able to wait for the money to come through from the sale before we got to work on the new site."

"In simple terms, we would have to take a mortgage out, then when we sold St Luke's that would hopefully pay off what we had borrowed.

"At the moment we maintain St Luke's to a safe standard, but it will need significant repair.

"The cost of repairing the building would be high and it makes far more sense to move services either into the main hospitals or to the new site.

"This would be better for the patients and that is our main concern.

"For example, if someone falls at St Luke's and breaks a bone they are taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

"When services are closer they would simply be taken down the corridor. It is a far safer option."

The heated meeting saw both Kirklees and Calderdale councillors grill hospital bosses about the plans for St Luke's.

It was announced that any changes to hospital services - including proposals to move maternity, gynaecology and children's wards from the Infirmary to the Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax - could take up to five years to complete fully.

Patients being treated for strokes and disabilities, the X-ray unit and neurology services at the Crosland Moor site will be moved to the Infirmary if St Luke's closes.

The Acre Mills site plans will go on public display on December 16.

A final decision is set to be made by the hospital board in mid-January.