THE plan for a £9 million redevelopment of Savernake Hospital must include provision for future expansion, town councillors have warned.

At a meeting of the town council finance committee on Monday councillors welcomed the outline plan for the new state of the art hospital, but were concerned that the inclusion of 37 new houses on the site could crowd the hospital area and jeopardise future extensions.

Coun Maurice Cooper said he was concerned that the amount of housing proposed, with a density of 17 per acre, could swallow up a large part of the land.

"There are going to be a lot of extra houses built in the town in the next few years, especially with the development at St John's. I think we must be careful that in ten or 15 years we don't end up with insufficient land left to expand the hospital if necessary," he said.

Councillors were also concerned there were only seven starter homes proposed.

But Coun Margaret Boulton said the site, some distance from the town centre, was not ideal for young families.

"We do need more affordable homes but we must be seen to be giving support to the new hospital,"she said.