West Cumberland Hospital redevelopment 'to be funded'

A planned £100m revamp of a hospital in Cumbria has secured government funding, it has been announced.

Chancellor George Osborne said that the redevelopment of the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven was safe and that money was available.

But it was not all good news for the county with the Lake District Park National Park Authority (LDNPA) revealing it will lose funding of £7m.

It said jobs would be lost and details will be announced in January.

Progressing well

The new-look West Cumberland Hospital, which will have a new accident and emergency unit, is due to open on the same site in 2013.

North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust said work on the revamp was already well underway.

The current hospital has a consultant-led maternity unit and stroke unit.

Large parts of the existing hospital, at Hensingham, are due to be bulldozed and rebuilt and others completely refurbished.

A spokesman for the Trust said: "The redevelopment of West Cumberland Hospital is progressing well with the announcement today from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, confirming the government's capital funding contribution."

Kevin Clarkson, deputy chief executive and chief operating officer of the Trust, added: "I am sure the redeveloped hospital will enable us to continue giving patients the care they deserve in the most appropriate setting."