Go ahead for breast unit

Two outline planning applications to build a new unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath were approved last night by Mid Sussex District Council.

But the proposals have been opposed by 30,000 readers of The Argus, who want the service to stay in the city.

The Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust wants a fresh home for the Nigel Porter Unit for Breast Care, which is based at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

The trust needs a bigger complex to meet government targets for breast cancer care.

The two applications approved last night are for the same site but one unit would be higher than the other.

There are concerns about parking and the effect on the town's skyline.

Council chairman Christopher Hersey said he decided to bring the matter before the full council because of its wide-ranging implications.

He said: "I know this is a very emotive subject. It would make a significant impact on the district."

Councillors agreed it was no longer a simple decision about whether or not to approve the planning application.

Coun Sue Sewell said Brighton had turned the issue into a "political football."

Coun Jim Beacon said: "I think we are confusing two issues, the need for a breast care unit and the need for a unit on this site.

"I suspect we will give the application for the wrong reasons and we will then have a fight with Brighton which we will not win."

The trust has also made an application to build a unit on the Rosaz House site in Bristol Gate, Brighton. The bid was approved by the city council on July 3.

The trust prefers the option of moving the cancer unit to Haywards Heath.

But health chiefs were forced to lodge the Brighton application after campaigners signed The Argus petition to keep the unit in the city.

The Mid Sussex and Brighton Primary Care Trusts will meet in September to decide whether to build in Haywards Heath or Brighton.