Under-fire health chiefs admitted for the first time this week that it has been "re-examining" its plans for the St Luke's Hospital site in Leicester Road in light of the economic climate.

Prior to this week's statement, health bosses have always maintained that the business case for its "one stop health hub" at St Luke's was on schedule.

Recently-elected Harborough district councillor Phil Knowles, who has been campaigning on the hospitals issue for four years, is planning to grill executives from the Leicestershire County and Rutland NHS Trust at a crunch meeting next Thursday.

Cllr Knowles is hoping to put executives on the spot and is urging as many Harborough people as possible to attend the meeting to show the strength of frustration felt in Harborough over the trust's trail of delays over the Harborough project.

The first promises made about Harborough getting a new hospital were made at least as far back as the 1960s.

As recently as 2005, a £30m new hospital for St Luke's was still on the cards, but this Private Finance Initiative plan was scrapped for financial reasons.

Only two months ago, the trust revealed Harborough Medical Centre would be staying put in Coventry Road – the centre moving to the "health hub" at St Luke's was one of the key tenets of the project and critics leapt on its shelving as a sign the whole scheme was under review.

There are no hints yet that the trust will go back on its 2007 decision to close the historic Cottage Hospital in Coventry Road.

Cllr Knowles said he was very worried the project might soon be scrapped and added: "They promised last year that decisions would be made by now and now they say it might not be until the spring. If they promise to do something, they should do it. If they don't, people just get cynical. The trust is way-off on their time-line"

Dominic Cox, deputy director of primary care for the trust, said this week: "As planned, we will be updating people about the future of all our community hospitals at our public board meeting on February 11.

"We have spent the last few months re-examining our planning in the light of public feedback and the overall financial situation, which has meant we have developed a prioritisation process for our work locally. The business case for Market Harborough is progressing and will be discussed in the spring at a future trust board meeting."

l Next Thursday's board meeting is open to all. It takes place at 2pm at the trust's headquarters, Lakeside House, 4 Smith Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester.

THE FIGHT for a modern hospital facility to serve the ever-expanding town of Harborough dates back to the 1960s.
St Luke's Hospital in Leicester Road was built in the early 1900s and some of the buildings on its grounds have sat boarded up, dilapidated and disused for several years. The Cottage Hospital in Coventry Road was built in 1909.
A time-line of key events:
l October 1966. Health trust the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board says Harborough will get a hospital extension. However, no NHS funds are available so the town launches a fundraising campaign.
l March 1973. Secretary of State Sir Keith Joseph approves in principle a new community hospital for Harborugh. The Mail reported, in an echo of today's situation: "It is not yet known whether the proposals will involve an extension to the current hospital or a new building."
l 1980s and early 1990s. The Fosse Health Trust says Harborough will get a new hospital.
l October 1999. The Leicestershire and Rutland healthcare NHS Trust says 'new hospital an option in health debate'.
l November, 2006. The Mail raises concerns over the new hospital pledge on its front page: "Will we ever get a new hospital?"
l April 5, 2007. New hospital project axed - but health bosses promise a new "refurbished" St Luke's will still happen.

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