PRESS RELEASE

22 February 2002

OTTAWAY SEEKS TRUTH OVER CANE HILL

Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South, has written to the Minister of Health asking for clarification on the future use of the Cane Hill site.

A proposal for a 120-bed medium secure mental health unit on the site failed to obtain planning permission in 2000 and its future has remained uncertain since then.

Richard Ottaway says:-

"Having been assured by the Minister that no decision has yet been made about the future of Cane Hill I was extremely concerned to read a report of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. This report reveals that decisions are being made and that there was a plan to transfer this site to the NHS estates. The Government is still clearly backing the development of an medium secure unit at Cane Hill but won't admit it."

"This is a highly sensitive issue in my constituency and I have called on the Minister to end the uncertainty and come clean about the future use of this site".

Ends.

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