A meeting called to gauge support for a public fundraising appeal to build a new £8.9 million Savernake Hospital attracted a turnout of just 24 people.

Retired design engineer William Burroughs, who organised the meeting on Tuesday night, said he was bitterly disappointed at the attendance.

But he remains convinced there is support within the community for an appeal to keep the new hospital in public ownership, rather than being built with private funding.

About £5.2 million would need to be raised to prevent the health service having to seek a development partner for a private finance initiative deal.

The remainder of the projected £8.9 million cost of a new hospital replacing the existing 130-year-old buildings would be raised by selling half the site for housing.

Mr Burroughs, who lives in Great Bedwyn, believes the hospital should remain in public ownership and he paid £85 to hire Marlborough Town Hall for Tuesday's meeting.

Those who attended agreed that an appeal or fundraising bonds issue could be considered under the umbrella of the League of Friends of Savernake Hospital.

Brian McClintock from the friends said he was sure the group would allow its charitable status to be used to support raising funds towards the new hospital.

The meeting ended with Mr Burroughs and Ivor Price from Marlborough agreeing to look into possible ways of raising money and to report back to the league of friends' annual meeting in April.

Mr Burroughs said his main concern was to keep the new Savernake Hospital in public ownership rather than let private financiers pay for the new building that would be leased back to the health service for between 25-50 years.

He said he believed the estimated 90,000 people living in the Savernake Hospital catchment area would support an appeal. "It would average out at about £127 per head for everyone which I believe is cheap," he said.

But Mr McClintock, who is also a member of the Community Health Council, said: "I don't think it is cheap for 90 per cent of the population."

He said there were pockets of rural poverty where people would not be able to afford to give any donation.

Mr Price suggested that selling bonds in the new hospital with a guaranteed income for investors would be another way of raising public funding.

Town councillor Marian Hannaford said the league of friends would be the ideal organisation to promote an appeal. "It would seem to me that if the friends would take this on then we have achieved the purpose of this meeting tonight."

Mr McClintock said the present league members were fully stretched with their own fundraising work.

But he added: "I know the league of friends would be prepared to take this on if a sub committee appointed by this meeting tonight was prepared to do the fundraising for this specific purpose."

Several people called for caution over launching an appeal when the new hospital would be provided anyway with private backers. Bill Spray, chairman of the now disbanded hospital action group SHIFT, said that in the current NHS framework he did not see any other option than a PFI scheme.

After Tuesday's meeting Mr Burroughs said he was disappointed with the number who attended. He added: "The motivation of people to have community ownership as opposed to the hospital being built under a PFI, is strong."