PAPER mill bosses have shelved housing plans to give the new Otley hospital a clear run at being built on its chosen site.

Now all that remains for the hospital to go through the planning process is clearer details from the health trust.

Meanwhile, Aireborough and Horsforth MP Paul Truswell is threatening to call on health secretary Allan Milburn if progress is not made in the next few weeks.

"The time for thumb twiddling and navel contemplation is over. It is true that we have had to have lengthy consultations about the future of the hospital, the site for it and the services that should be provided, but enough is enough," said Mr Truswell.

Garnett and Son Paper Makers Ltd had applied to build houses on the same site favoured for the new Wharfedale Hospital.

But now, the company has shelved indefinitely any hopes to build houses on the site off Pool Road and has given the health trust its full support.

Now, all that could remain for the

hospital to get planning permission is for details of flood risk and earlier tipping on the site.

A spokesman for Garnett's said: "As far as we are concerned the hospital is the frontrunner. The housing is on the backburner and has been superseded by the hospital. Garnett is rooting for the hospital and believes it is the best option.

"The planning people don't seem to have too many objections to the hospital and at this moment in time Garnett's want something that is useful for both the community and Garnett's business."

Martin Sellens, principal planning officer at Leeds City Council, said more information had been requested from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

"The hospital application is still with us and we have requested more information about flood plain issues on the land and in relation to previous tipping on the site.

"We are still waiting on the hospital trust and until we get that the application is in abeyance."

Mr Sellens added that since Garnett's application for houses on the site was refused by the council and then thrown out on appeal to the secretary of state, a fresh application had not come in.

Mr Truswell is now calling on the trust to come up with a definite plan for the

building of the new hospital.

"Until the trust produces its business plan, we cannot move the process forward. The trust was mainly responsible for the delay - especially when it showed its

reluctance to retain in-patient surgery at the hospital.

"There have also been difficulties with the proposed site and these need sorting out."

He added that there were still a number of stages that the hospital needed to go through before the hospital could go out to tender.

And he added he would be talking to Alan Milburn if the process did not move ahead.

A spokesman for the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said the finishing touches were being put to the latest outline business case and would be put to the Northern and Yorkshire regional office of the NHS executive in the next few weeks.

"This needed to be reworked following public consultation to take account of the views reached about provision at the new surgery.

"Regarding the planning application the trust has been working to resolve the issues about possible flooding of the -site raised by the Environment Agency. We believe these have now been answered and the trust is now in the process of taking forward the matter of outline planning approval."