Mayor responds to the Government scrapping plans for new Doncaster hospital

Mr Coppard said: "Doncaster Council and partners across the NHS have been campaigning for a new hospital since 2019, and we’ve all been quietly hopeful that we would get the support we need to move forward with the project.

"Alongside partners, I wrote to the government in May once again making our case.

"But yesterday we found out that the business case for the development of a new hospital in Doncaster has not been included in the Government’s New Hospital Programme.

"We desperately need a new hospital.

"The DRI is literally falling down, with running repairs alone set to cost over £115 million.

"A new hospital wouldn’t just offer our communities world-class health care, it would accelerate the redevelopment and regeneration of a significant site in Doncaster.

"This decision from Ministers is a u-turn on the the pledge they made at the last election to build 40 new hospitals across the country, and I’m bitterly disappointed the government have not made good on that promise.

"Alongside my job as Mayor, I Chair South Yorkshire’s Integrated Care Partnership - the body that is responsible for the health and well-being strategy for our region.

“I’ll be writing to the Secretary of State for Health - Steve Barclay - to express my frustration and disappointment at the decision not to progress plans for a new hospital here, and to ask him for a meeting to talk about the huge challenges we face with the current building. I will keep working to make that case."