OKEHAMPTON?S Castle Hospital site should be used as extra care housing by social services, says the area?s MP.

John Burnett has vowed to continue to work to prevent the hospital site being used for residential development., a move he feared would be a ?great loss? to the town.

Mr Burnett instead wants to see the site purchased by social services to be used as extra care housing for those who require supportive living.

West Devon Borough Council?s Local Plan currently restricts development at the site to medical care uses or development where a significant element of care is provided for residents.

Mr Burnett said proposed modifications to allow the site to be designated for housing would be ?contrary to the long-term interests of the NHS and social services in Devon?.

He said all political parties on Devon County Council, West Devon Borough Council and Okehampton Town Council were agreed on the need to preserve the site for extra care housing.

The site would accommodate property which would be used by individuals who face problems caring for themselves and require support from the NHS and social services.

The accommodation could be suitable for older people, people with mental health problems, those with learning disabilities and other at-risk groups.

Mr Burnett added that doctors in the area were behind the project and so was the Mid Devon Primary Care Trust.

He said: ?We have been very fortunate in Okehampton to have had a substantial NHS involvement with the construction of a fantastic new hospital.?

However, Mr Burnett said it would be ?short-sighted? if the site was allowed to be designated for general housing and sold to the highest bidder.

?In financial terms, it is value for money, but if you look at this in the medium to long-term, there is an absolute need for this type of provision in the future.?

He believed safeguarding the site now, would save the NHS considerable money in the long-term because it would ?reduce travelling time for people who would otherwise have to live in outlying villages and hamlets and even more isolated farms? and it would allow clinical facilities to be retained on the site.

Mr Burnett said there would be ?significant advantages? for retaining the site for extra care housing.

The Castle Hospital was felt to be about the only flat site in the town suitable for such housing and had convenient access to other care facilities, including the

hospital.

Mr Burnett said private housing on the site would generate considerable additional traffic, which he believed would be dangerous for such a narrow road as Castle Road.

Those who want to see the site safeguarded say the matter is becoming increasingly urgent as time was short.

Mr Burnett said: ?We are heavily reliant on Supporting People funding for this project. The funding is lined up for the financial year 2005/06.?

Supporting People is a Government initiative changing the way supported housing services are provided to vulnerable people to enable them to remain living at home independently.

?Without a purchase in the next financial year, we lose the whole scheme,? he said.

Inventurres, the specialist healthcare consuItancy, is understood to be planning to solicit tenders on behalf of the NHS in the year 2006/07.

Mr Burnett added: ?This would destroy our plans and would be a great loss to the people of Okehampton and the surrounding area, as well as the NHS and its staff.?

The MP intends to hold a meeting with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Health, Lord Warner, within the next few weeks to press the issue.