Town councillors in Otley could go to court over scaled-down plans for a new Wharfedale hospital.

They say they feel cheated because original pledges made two years ago for services at the new hospital appear to have been drastically reduced without full consultation.

And now the council is looking into seeking a judicial review to see if the health authority has acted legally and whether it has carried out enough public consultation.

The council is also to strongly object to the fresh proposals, plans to call on the support of local GPs and wants the health authority to ask people if they would be happy with a smaller hospital - even if it meant a drop in safety standards.

It also wants to see a separate group made up of the district's Primary Care Groups to deal with the new Wharfedale hospital.

Councillor Phil Coyne (Lab, Ashfield) said the council was at a very early stage in its attempts to seek a judicial review but added councillors felt badly let down by the consultation process.

"A service plan was put forward two years ago that was widely consulted on but that was overturned by an internal management meeting and that is unacceptable.

"We are going to end up with a clinic and not a hospital and it is just not acceptable to the local population," said Coun Coyne.

The current public consultation - looking into the reconfiguration of Leeds health services - will finish tomorrow but the council is unhappy no public meetings were held in Otley.

Coun Coyne added: "We want advice on whether the current consultation is adequate to government requirements. Geographically, it might have been a massive consultation but it has not got through to people." A spokesman for Leeds Health Authority said it was coming to the end of extensive public consultation and had not as yet been made aware of any comments from Otley Town Council.

"All comments from the public consultation will be considered at a specially- convened public meeting on June 19 in Leeds Civic Hall," he said.

The council is unhappy that proposed services at the new 'locality' hospital differ from earlier proposals and appear to no longer include provisions for overnight surgery.

Councillor Jim Spencer (Lib Dem, West Chevin), chairman of the council's finance and general purposes committee, said the provision of overnight stay surgery was central to the hospital.

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