A STAND-OFF has been created over the redevelopment of the Corus-owned Whiteheads site off Newport's Mendalgief Road.

Newport council has reserved the site for health use within its draft unitary development plan (UDP).

The reservation prevents Corus from realising the fortune it could make for the 90-acre site by selling it for residential development.

The council and the urban regeneration company Newport Unlimited would like to see the site used for the rebuilding of the Royal Gwent Hospital.

The existing facility is exhausted and requires replacement in the next ten to 15 years. Newport Unlimited sees a new hospital with adequate car parking facilities as a key part of its vision for Newport in 2020. But the Gwent Healthcare Trust is wary of the scheme because of the finance involved and the fact that any dramatic moves must be coordinated with a Gwent-wide revamp of healthcare provision.

In essence, the trust wants to avoid the scenario of the Welsh Rugby Union and its Millennium Stadium (a state-of-the-art facility which the union must spend the next millennium paying for).

Corus' hands will be bound until 2011.

If there is no sign of a new hospital by then, then the site will probably be freed for residential development.

Speaking to the Argus last week, David Ward, planning and strategy chief at Newport Unlimited, said: "It's a long-term opportunity for Newport and one of huge regional significance.

"The site is ideal for the phased development of a new hospital. "This (inclusion in Newport's UDP) makes sure the opportunity for securing the site for health use isn't missed."

The UDP will by scrutinised by a public inquiry in October.

A spokesman for Corus said the group was considering the situation and would respond shortly.