THE best possible Christmas present for the Marlborough area came in the form of signatures on the contract guaranteeing the building of the long-awaited new Savernake Hospital will start in the New Year.

The final sealing of the £8.5 million contract between the Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust and developers Chiltern Securities took place on Friday.

New hospital project manager Peter Williams had given an assurance via the Gazette to the people of Marlborough that the contracts would be signed by last Friday at the latest.

After a day's hard negotiation between both sides at the trust's London lawyers' offices, the contracts were finally signed at 7.30pm.

It was a historic moment for Marlborough because it guaranteed that the wonderful work carried out at the old Savernake Hospital over the last 125 years would continue.

Facilities at the hospital do not meet modern health care standards and it has been running on borrowed time.

It will also mean that during next year's celebrations in Marlborough of the town's 800th anniversary when it's expected Prince Charles will visit the town, he can also lay a foundation stone at the new hospital.

The builders will move on site on January 5 and it's intended that the new hospital will open at Easter in 2005.

It has been known for decades that Savernake Hospital's existence was fragile and that it could have been closed at any time.

Thirteen years ago when the future of the hospital was under threat a group of four people took the first moves towards securing Savernake's future.

Retired teacher Bill Spray, Marlborough GP Nick Maurice, and stalwart hospital supporters Ray White and the late Tony Rankin, set up a working group called the Savernake Hospital Inquiry Fund Trust.

It raised £30,000 that paid not only for lobbying but also for a detailed analysis of the role of Savernake Hospital and its importance in the community by the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care.

The institute reported the hospital played a major and vital role in local health care and would in the future.

Mr Spray said this week that he had no doubts the institute's findings played a big part in persuading health chiefs that Savernake Hospital had to be kept and modernised.

Peter Williams was taken on as project manager three years ago to steer the planning of a new hospital within the grounds of Savernake Hospital.

His was one of the signatures on the private finance initiative contract on Friday that guaranteed the future of the hospital.

Mr Williams said this week: "I have done my very best to ensure that this project moves smoothly to the construction phase and thence to the commissioning of the new hospital in 2005 and I thank everyone for their support over the last three years."

He told the Gazette that the contract with house builder David Wilson Homes, which is buying part of the hospital site to defray the cost of the new hospital, was due to be signed by today.

Mr Spray said: "I think enormous congratulations are due to Peter Williams for his dogged perseverance which has seen this through. We could not have had a better project manager."

For the duration of the building work the 25 elderly patients in the Ailesbury Ward will be moved out to Devizes Hospital and nurses will be taken daily by bus.

Savernake Hospital was originally opened in 1866 in an adapted building given by the Marquis of Ailesbury. The present buildings, designed by the architect Sir Gilbert Scott were opened in 1870 at a cost of just under £5,000.