MALDON’S Victorian hospital site could be refurbished instead of a new community facility being built, it has been revealed.

St Peter’s Hospital, in Spital Road, is set to be replaced or overhauled and redeveloped, though no official dates have been set.

Previous assessments found the site would not be viable as a hospi- tal in the future and suggested a new community facility should be built elsewhere.

But healthcare leaders have now unveiled four options for a new hos- pital – two of which include retaining the existing site.

The proposals will be discussed by Maldon District Council’s Communi- ty Services Committee next week.

The proposals include refurbishing the current St Peter’s Hospital build- ings, completely knocking down and rebuilding on site, a refurb and new build on-site combination and a com- pletely new build on a new site.

A project manager has now also been appointed to oversee the devel- opment.

Trevor Fernandes, co-chairman of the Blackwater Patient Participation Group, said the group was “deter - mined” to get the project moving.

He said: “All of the group members feel that so much time has been wast- ed over the past few years in assess- ing the St Peter’s site and how it isn’t viable, as the structure doesn’t work and it would be better off being built somewhere else. It’s been going back- wards and forwards for years.

“However, we’re prepared to now look over the site again, and we’re happy about the appointment of the project manager.”

He added: “We’ve been in this situ- ation several times over the past five years with options available to us, and we’re really determined to push through and get on with it, and the council want it just as badly as we do.”

A spokesman for the CCG said: “The CCG has appointed an experi- enced project manager to oversee de- livery. His remit includes evaluating the viability of different options and managing a clear plan to see the pro- ject through to conclusion.”