A new community hospital for Bicester could be built at the former airbase at Upper Heyford, the Oxford Mail can reveal.

Talks have taken place between the North Oxfordshire Consortium and the Oxfordshire Health Authority about the future of the former airbase hospital.

And one of the options being looked into for the building, which has been mothballed since the Americans pulled out five years ago, is the possibility of it being turned into the proposed new Bicester community hospital.

Keith Watson, general manager of the North Oxfordshire Consortium, which manages the former airbase, said: "We are investigating various options for the building to secure its long-term future.

"We have written to the health authority, which is one of the options, and have asked them if it is worth looking into."

Mr Watson said the building, which is on a site covering 90,000 sq ft and is worth £10m, could be home to the Bicester hospital particularly as there are plans to improve public transport.

He added: "The issue to do with the Upper Heyford hospital needs addressing, it's not inconcievable that the Bicester hospital could be built there." Rumours concerning the latest Bicester community hospital proposals have surfaced in recent days.

Health secretary Frank Dobson is to decide in the coming months whether to give the £4m, 30-bed hospital the go-ahead.

This follows the Oxfordshire Community Health Council meeting a fortnight ago which failed to agree plans for the new hospital because of its funding links with the proposed closure of the Burford and Watlington hospitals.

Keith Mitchell, a member of the Oxfordshire Health Authority committee, confirmed that the Heyford building had been suggested as a possible site.

He said: "It's a marvellous site which can be taken out of the mothballed state that it's in, and opened very quickly. But it is not suitable for a community hospital and I'm not aware of it being discussed formally by the health authority."

Ruth Sharrock, communications manager for the Oxfordshire Community Health Trust, said that the new Bicester hospital will be built using private finance.

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