PLANNERS are being urged to throw out plans which could prevent an under-sized hospital from expanding.

The privately financed University Hospital of North Durham is under pressure because it was built with fewer beds than the old Dryburn Hospital it replaced.

Since it opened last year, operations have regularly had to be cancelled because of delayed discharges and a high level of emergency admissions.

The crisis has even forced health bosses to merge the new hospital with others in County Durham, in a bid to increase capacity.

But protestors claim any significant expansion will be impossible if new plans to build a hotel, pub and housing get the go-ahead.

The City of Durham Trust wants Durham City Council to reject planning applications to build on land next to the £97m hospital. The land was sold to Consort Healthcare as part of the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) deal to build the new hospital.

Dr Douglas Pocock, secretary of the amenity group, said: "The council should think again. This could be the last opportunity to retain land for the NHS on that site."

The trust has written to the Council urging that until the hospital's medium or long- term plans are known, "the remaining land, arbitrarily deemed surplus to requirements, should not be developed by pre-emptive uses".

While the agreement to dispose of the land was made at least five years ago, as recently as last year management at the former North Durham NHS Trust assured the council that it had enough land to meet its needs for the forseeable future.

In his letter to the council, Dr Pocock said that this optimism had proved to be ill-founded.

David Woodhead, chief officer with North Durham Community Health Council, said he understood the land retained by the hospital was adequate for any expansion.

A spokeswoman for Durham City Council confirmed that two planning applications from Consort were being considered.

A spokeswoman for the new County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS trust said: "The land is now owned by Consort. It was sold off five years ago as part of the PFI deal, which was signed by a previous trust."

Marjorie Hooper, spokeswoman for Consort Healthcare, said: "The planning applications are going through the proper public process.

"There is a report being prepared and we are awaiting to hear the outcome of that at this time. We therefore cannot comment any further at this time."