IT is just 50 years since Airedale Hospital opened to great fanfare and excitement.

The huge site met the needs of a far reaching community and was highly acclaimed with all its bells and whistles.

Fast forward half a century and the prognosis for its survival is not looking at all healthy.

We are now told that the majority of the structure was made from a material that only had a 30-year lifespan. That means for the past two decades the hospital has been ‘past its best before date’.

It is fair to say that those who rubber stamped its build in the first place were not thinking of replacing it 30 years down the line, but structural stress tests have shown the walls, panels and floors over 85 per cent of the site are showing areas where there is a problem.

The bosses have come up with a plan where to rebuild the hospital will cost about the same as repairing it. The former can also be done without shipping out patients and facilities.

What is more, a rebuild will allow bosses to realise a vision to create Europe’s first carbon zero hospital.

With funding we would have a hospital that would hopefully last more than 50 years while being able to tick all the relevant green boxes to satisfy the need for carbon-free credentials.

What’s not to like?