KEIGHLEY MP Robbie Moore has met the Chancellor of the Exchequer to push the case for a new-build Airedale Hospital.

He had discussions with Jeremy Hunt at 11 Downing Street to make the economic case for the project.

Mr Moore has previously had meetings with the Prime Minister and Health Secretary over the need for a replacement hospital.

Plans for a new building were among an ambitious £1.7 billion-plus package of proposals put forward to the Government in 2021.

Forty hospitals have previously been selected for a rebuild, with a further eight to be announced in due course.

Mr Moore says: "Following my meetings with the Health Secretary and the Prime Minister, it was great to meet the Chancellor at number 11 to make the case for a full rebuild of Airedale Hospital.

"I had two site visits to Airedale Hospital at the start of this year and they were a sobering reminder of the strain that the hospital’s infrastructure is under. I made it clear to the Chancellor during our meeting that further ward closures at Airedale Hospital would be detrimental to our local economy and affect healthcare provision across West and North Yorkshire and parts of East Lancashire."