Graham made the comment after it was reported in the media that the project faced being left £10 million short due to delays being caused by the discovery of a [...]]]> Delays to the construction of the new East Riding Community Hospital ‘will not’ lead to a funding shortfall, says MP for Beverley and Holderness Graham Stuart.

Graham made the comment after it was reported in the media that the project faced being left £10 million short due to delays being caused by the discovery of a protected Great Crested Newt on the site.

Graham said: “After seeing this in the press I immediately contacted the East Riding of Yorkshire NHS to get clarification of the situation.

“I have been told the project is still very much on track and that the money earmarked for the hospital has not been affected by the six month delay in work starting on the site.

“I am told the documents which were referred to in the press were from a meeting back in March looking at ‘potential’ risks to the hospital project. “

And he added: “I, with so many others, have campaigned long and hard for this major new facility to be built in Beverley – it will serve the town and much of the surrounding area with state-of-the-art facilities which can simply not be provided at the Westwood Hospital.

“When I set up CHANT (Community Hospitals Acting Nationally Together) back in 2005, it seemed the days of the small community hospital were coming to an end. In the East Riding alone, Beverley, Driffield, Hornsea and Withernsea hospitals were all under threat of cutbacks or closure and it seemed we were fighting a losing battle against the former Government’s plans.

 “It took a lot of hard work but ministers finally caved in and came round to the fact hospitals like the one planned in Beverley offer superior health care close to people’s homes.”

 The full business case for the new East Riding Community Hospital will go before the PCT board this Thursday. From there it will be Reserved Matters at planning on August 12 and to the Strategic Health Authority board on the September 7 prior to submission to the Department of Health.

The Barratt Homes project has successfully sold nearly all the flats – many on the Government’s HomeBuy Direct scheme designed to help first time buyers get on the property ladder.

Graham said: “It [...]]]> MP for Beverley and Holderness, Graham Stuart, will be performing a topping-out ceremony at a new development of 39 flats in Figham Road, Beverley.

The Barratt Homes project has successfully sold nearly all the flats – many on the Government’s HomeBuy Direct scheme designed to help first time buyers get on the property ladder.

Graham said: “It will be great to lay the final stone in this development. Getting on the housing ladder is daunting these days and I’m pleased that the families concerned have been able to do so.

 “Since 1997 there has been a huge increase in council waiting lists and the cost of homes because of a failure to match supply to demand. Despite the economic mess we’re in I hope that the new government will change planning rules and make sure that there are local homes for local people in schemes over which local people have the final say.

 “I will be delighted to celebrate this development but I won’t be satisfied until all the other hard working local families who dream of a home of their own are able to fulfil that aspiration.  

 The topping out ceremony is due to take place on July 29, at 11am.

 Graham said: “I will be taking this up as a matter of urgency with the minister responsible. This [...]]]> MP for Beverley and Holderness, Graham Stuart, today said he was disappointed to hear the much needed southern Beverley relief road scheme had been put on hold as part of a cost cutting exercise by the new government.

 Graham said: “I will be taking this up as a matter of urgency with the minister responsible. This bypass is vital to the future of Beverley – its economic growth, its tourism potential and to help preserve its historic past.

 “A great deal of work has already gone into developing the plans for the bypass, a great deal of money has already been spent. I campaigned for the bypass and I will continue to work hard to make it happen.”

 Across the country transport projects worth a total of £1.6 billion, including bypasses, bridges and metro systems, have all been suspended.

 The government said it was stopping all schemes not already under contract.

 It has been widely reported that many councils whose projects have been put on hold were taken aback by the scale of the Government’s rethink.

On his first day in his Westminster office, the Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, acknowledged he would consider every spending request through the “jaundiced eye” of someone who had spent three years as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

He announced that all transport initiatives not already under contract would be suspended pending financial review in the autumn and the outcome of a joint Treasury/DfT rethink of how spending decisions are made.

“I am taking this action to ensure that no taxpayers’ money is spent unnecessarily on transport schemes that are now under review,” he said.

Plans to improve the busy A164 between the Humber Bridge and Beverley have also been suspended.

Graham added: “While I fully understand the need to rebuild the country’s economy after 13 years of Labour over spending and over promising, we must not forget there are some items on the shopping list which are vital – the bypass is one of those.”