A council is being urged to write to Health Secretary Wes Streeting to ask him to block the closure of a 130-year-old community hospital in Lancashire.

Hyndburn Council is being urged to take action on Accrington Victoria Hospital, with a meeting planned to debate a motion calling on East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust to suspend its plans to close the community health center.

The draft resolution proposed by Labor Milnshaw ward councilor Paul Cox instead wants to see investment in the building.

Last month the trust announced it would close Accrington Victoria Hospital due to security fears.

Trust chief executive Martin Hodgson said Haywood Road Hospital was in a “critical condition” and “beyond repair” but key services would remain in the town for local people, with most moving just about a kilometer and a half.

He said large parts of the 1894 building were boarded up, the roof had collapsed, it was “full of asbestos” and would be “unsafe to stay in”.

Hyndburn’s new Labor MP Sarah Smith has already pledged to fight to keep the hospital open in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ office.

Mr Cox’s motion, seconded by fellow Milnshaw Labor councilor Andrew Clegg, said: “This council is extremely disappointed with the decision by the East Lancashire Health Trust to close Accrington Victoria Hospital.

“As such a short timetable was issued by the trust, we feel it did not allow residents and the community to have their voices heard.

“As a council we believe this action has disproportionately affected residents of Hyndburn, and particularly those of Accrington.

“This council calls on the trust to suspend this action rather than close it and invest in the building and the vital services it provides.”

He said the council would consider establishing a task force “to explore developing a plan that would offer a solution to ongoing construction issues and seek to access funding that would ensure Hyndburn residents receive care fair and proportionate health services, based in the heart of our city.

Hyndburn Council Conservative Opposition Leader Zak Khan said: “Any future working groups or actions must be open and transparent so that residents fully understand the decisions taken. »