MALMESBURY'S new flagship hospital will be built on the present site at Burton Hill the project board has decided.

Filands, and the former Lucent site at Swindon Road were both rejected by the group which is made up of GPs, councillors, representatives of the League of Friends, and staff from Malmesbury Hospital.

It voted unanimously to recommend the Burton Hill site for the proposed development to Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust.

Malmesbury Mayor Charles Vernon said he was glad a decision had been made.

He said: "The bottom line is that if we have a facility that has been spoken about, it has got to be good for the town."

"I don't think there was a great deal between Burton Hill and Filands."

Plans for a new hospital were drawn up as part of a review by the PCT of care provision across the service, with the aim of reducing its £10 million budget deficit.

There were strong fears in the town that the hospital would be scrapped altogether and the land at Burton Hill sold for houses.

But the PCT announced in May that it was committed to developing a community hospital and primary care centre somewhere in Malmesbury.

The Malmesbury Project Board was set up to look at the options for a possible site for the new hospital.

Filands was the first site considered by the group, but the Minton Group which owns the former Lucent site put in a late bid in September.

The board has been meeting monthly to discuss the merits of each location.

There were three main reasons the board decided on Burton Hill site in preference to the other two options.

Project manager Peter Williams said the new development will continue the long history of basing health care services on one site.

He said Burton Hill was an established stopping point on an existing bus route and was owned by the NHS, making the planning and implementation more within the PCT's control.

He added that the fact that neither of the other sites offered any major advantage over the existing site, either financially or otherwise, made Burton Hill the best choice.

A public meeting to present the proposals has been delayed until the New Year while the PCT consider the proposal.

The board hoped an outline planning application would be submitted to North Wiltshire District Council in February.

Coun Vernon however wanted the PCT to make clear what type of services need to be included in the new hospital.

He said: "I am still not exactly clear what will be offered and we need to find out."

The PCT was unavailable for comment yesterday, but it is thought the development would include a GP surgery, Social Services accommodation and a care home.

In its document Setting out our Strategic Direction, the PCT said there would be six to ten intermediate care beds as part of the nursing home, which would also include palliative care.

The trust has recommended that the maternity unit should be closed.

Chairman of the League of Friends Robin Clark said: "I am very pleased about the site. I always wanted the hospital at Burton Hill. I thought there would be important obstacles to cross if we had it somewhere else.

"Everybody knows there is a hospital there which will make it easier when the new one is built."