MRS J Madden (Letters, December 10) asks why Darwen councillors have been persuaded by the Health Authority that the Leisure Centre site is the only workable option for the new Darwen Health Centre. Other councillors can speak for themselves, but for me there were three main reasons.

Firstly, the new health centre will need a bigger site than the existing site on Union Street. This is because, besides the existing health centre services, it is proposed to bring in additional services which are not currently delivered in Darwen, but at the Infirmary or Queen's Park Hospital.

While the Leisure Centre site may be less convenient than Union Street, it is much more convenient for Darwen people than the Infirmary or Queen's Park -- and this will be even more so when the Infirmary closes.

Secondly, the reason why Darwen is proposed to be the first site in East Lancashire for a new health centre is because there is a virtually free site of the right size. If we pass this opportunity up, then other towns will move up the list and Darwen may have to wait years for a new heath centre.

Finally, if the Health Authority attempted to rebuild the health centre on the current Union Street site, where would the existing services go? After all, you can't deliver health care on a building site. There are no alternative premises designed for this purpose in Darwen, so the existing health centre services would have to be spread out all over Darwen or even into Blackburn. This would be hugely inconvenient for Darwen people.

In my view, the Leisure Centre site is the least-worst way to bring together the existing health centre services and new services together in Darwen as quickly as possible. However, I still have major concerns about access, which I will be raising with Health Authority at every opportunity.

Councillor DAVE HOLLINGS (Sunnyhurst Ward), Sudell Road, Darwen.