Unfortunately Laura Moffatt has referred to the research into making the case for a new Crawley Hospital as a 'silly stunt', I could not disagree more, the need for proper local acute services, such as A&E and maternity, is deadly serious.

If calling for a new hospital is a 'silly stunt' then it's one I and many others have been engaged with for over ten years now, ever since her government supported the loss of those health services from Crawley a decade ago.

The MP for Crawley is also trying to scaremonger by saying I'm only interested in a private hospital – I am most certainly not.

Let me be quite clear, the campaign I have supported for years and the aim I continue to support is for the Crawley area to have a new NHS hospital, universally available to residents regardless of the ability to pay. Laura Moffatt supports residents having to travel to East Surrey Hospital yet fails to mention this facility has a private section on site, which she apparently has no problem with.

The proposal that Crawley Borough, West Sussex County and Horsham District councils are investigating is a new NHS hospital as part of a medical/science research park, which obviously would be a tremendous boost to the local economy. It is a matter of regret that the Department of Health have not supported us and that is why we must now act ourselves.

The local authorities agreed from the outset to make the results of the study available to the public. This is a proposal that simply has not been considered before and we are all exited by the potential benefits to the area and its residents.

It has always been a nonsense that this important town, with a growing population, major transportation links, such as Gatwick, and our being at the centre of the sub-region, should be denied a local hospital with A&E.

My hope is that this study supported by the local councils will make the case for a new local NHS hospital.

Cllr Henry Smith, leader of West Sussex County Council