People across Hinckley and Bosworth express their anger at Leader of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Stuart Bray, “[playing] politics with the health of the people he is supposed to represent” after jeopardising £10m Day Case Unit.
The comments come after Cllr Bray wrote to Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health, to “ask you to consider asking your officials to work with myself, planning and conservation officers and the local community to look again at the design.”
Many question why Cllr Bray sent this letter now, as a public consultation into the proposals was carried out last year and the planning application was submitted in May. One resident accused the Council Leader of “throwing a spanner in the works at [the] last minute.”
Other residents questioned the merit behind keeping the frontage, saying “stop living in the past and do what is good for the people of Hinckley for once - who deserve a decent hospital not a patched-up series of huts and dilapidated buildings.”
Another comment read “we cannot live in Victorian times or preserve Hinckley as it was in the 1900s, sometimes we have to move on.”
Residents appreciate the heritage of the building but say they would prefer improved healthcare facilities in the town. In response to an online post about the letter by Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council, one resident said, “A pretty historic building is useless if the public doesn't have facilities, and by keeping this argument going he is setting up Hinckley to lose a much-needed facility.”
Someone else added “Please don't jeopardise this by delaying progress for the sake of a sentimental attachment to an old, outdated facility.”
This echoes comments made by Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, earlier in the week that “An empty building which is unsafe to operate in, as much as we all care for its heritage, serves no one.”
Dr Evans, Shadow Health Minister, commented on social media to say that he had only become aware of Cllr Bray’s letter when the media contacted him for comment.
In response to Cllr Bray’s letter, a spokesperson for the Department for Health said “The funding is due to be spent this financial year with delivery scheduled by February 2026.
"Any requests for further funding or to change or delay the scope of the project, would have to be made through the appropriate channels for consideration.”
Residents are angry and frustrated that the Council Leader’s letter risks this funding. One person said “if the risk is losing all funding for the building for frivolous appeals, then the councillor should really think hard about what his priorities are.” Another added “this feels very much like Bray is playing with the futures of the people of the town.”
The sentiment was shared by GP-turned-MP, Dr Evans, who said “I and, more importantly, the public will rightly hold Cllr Bray and the Liberal Democrats personally responsible if this falls through.”
