Prime Minister hopefuls Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have been urged to back plans for Canterbury’s new super hospital - should they wish to gain votes from local Tories.

The leader of the city council has written to the battling pair, detailing the “desperately needed” plan to transform the K&C into east Kent’s main healthcare hub.

Ben Fitter-Harding hopes the duo will realise the potential and throw support behind proposals for a new state-of-the-art facility on farmland next to the existing site.

Sunak and Truss’s stance on the hospital’s future is deemed to be the crucial factor for local Conservative Party members in determining who to favour.

“I’m looking for a commitment from them that they will work to support improving healthcare services in east Kent,” Cllr Fitter-Harding said.

“If they want the support of the leader of this council, they need to show they understand our issues and have the interests of residents at heart.

“It’s important they are aware that Canterbury, a city, hasn’t got an A&E.

“For us not to have that provision is nothing short of scandalous, so I want to see them support plans for Canterbury.”

“I hope at the very least, it will remind them of the challenges within the NHS and changes which are needed.”

As it stands the K&C super hospital is one of two options on the table for the future of east Kent health services.

The five-storey brick building would host a major emergency unit for all of the surrounding districts, with all specialist services such as heart and stroke care centralised in the city.

A&E departments at Ashford’s William Harvey and the QEQM in Margate would be downgraded to urgent treatment centres, but locals would still use the hospitals for the majority of their care.

The alternative would see all major services centralised at the William Harvey in Ashford, with Margate’s A&E unit expanded and the K&C downgraded to a hospital specialising in diagnostics and routine planned surgery.

Health bosses at the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are in the process of assessing the two proposals, before they are put out to public consultation.

Cllr Fitter-Harding believes local Tory members will decide which of the candidates to support after hearing their views on the hospital bid.

“I know [Sunak and Truss] are seeking council leader backing,” he said.

“I don’t think any of our councillors have a view on either candidate as of yet.

“I think they would very much like to have information on who supports the hospital bid before casting their vote. It’s a crucial topic for our district.”

In writing to the pair battling for the spot in Number 10, the council leader states: “Without basic services such as maternity and A&E, my district and its residents continue to be put in danger.

“Our location relative to our neighbours makes us the ideal place for a full-service hospital.

“We will continue to enact policy through our Local Plan and other means to make this desperately needed project a reality with all the connectivity it would need to provide an excellent service to east Kent.”

The vote for the country’s next prime minister closes at 5pm on Friday, September 2, with the outcome due to be announced the following Monday.

It was thought that the £460 million needed for the shake-up in services for east Kent would come from a £3.7 billion pot which the government has set aside to deliver 40 “new” hospitals across the country by 2030.

But the money has never been confirmed.

Martin Vye, chairman of The Option Two group, has campaigned for the Canterbury vision over the last three years - but says he will now be content with a pledge for the cash, regardless of whether the super hospital is favoured.

“The more important task at the moment is to ensure that the government recognises the dire situation in east Kent, and to persuade them to provide the £460 million,” he said.

“There have been long delays and rumours the government is backing away from their promise of new hospitals.

“However there is a spending review scheduled for October, when we are sure this issue will be decided.”

“We think the public, wherever they live in east Kent, and regardless of where they think that new hospital should go, should urgently press their MPs to make the strongest case possible for this new hospital.”