That was the message given to members attending the recent Local Government Association meeting held in London on Monday 21 May.
And what exactly does that mean? Well to Gosport it gives hope that there may still be a way forward and that by working together with the health authority locally, they can bring to the people of Gosport the health service they have been fighting for and deserve.
Andy Burnham MP, the Minister of State for Delivery and Reform for the Department of Health emphasised repeatedly at the meeting that as part of the ‘Well Being Agenda’ more responsibility would be devolved to local authorities and it was for them, together with the Area Health Authority, to work side by side for the good of the Community.
“We have always believed that rather than work against each other we have a lot of knowledge to share and that we should be working with the PCT and local NHS for the good of the community,” said Councillor Peter Edgar, spokesperson for the Save Haslar Task Force.
Mr Burnham’s announcement is great news as it comes at a time when the Defence Minister, Derek Twigg, has said in a letter to Lord Judd that even if Gosport’s local hospital, the MoD’s Royal Hospital Haslar, is sold on the open market, that it should be used for purposes agreeable to the Council.
“If the site is eventually declared surplus to defence needs it will be disposed of in line with the local authorities’ planning policies to secure a sustainable solution,” added Peter.
“We not only have a local plan for the area but we know and understand the planning laws and the impact on Highways that various developments can have. The idea of a developer buying Haslar and covering the site with flats and houses is just not feasible. For as well as the 60,000 graves on the site, many of the buildings are listed and the site itself has been declared a Historic Park and Garden. This makes building on most of it impossible.”
Meetings are being arranged with the MoD and the Council to discuss the sites potential which is great news as the authority have not had the chance to point out the problems for potential developers up till now.
“We still hope that there is a chance for the Portsmouth Health Authority to purchase the site,” added Peter. “A recent press article said the Government were looking for Councils to identify disused sites such as hospitals, swimming pools, police stations etc so that they can be sold to community groups for a nominal fee for use by the community “Nothing would give the Gosport community greater pleasure than for Haslar to be returned to the people who have fought long and hard for its continued use.”
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