The hospital can currently provide 8,000 appointments at its outpatients facility at the Rushden Memorial Clinic in Rectory Road.

Hospital bosses say the building is unfit for medical purpose and cannot cope with the number of patients in the district. The proposed centre should accommodate 40,000 outpatient visits together with a further 30,000 blood tests.

Back in January, the hospital's chief executive Dr Mark Newbold said he was surprised there had been opposition to the plans which the hospital felt would benefit the whole district.

Earlier this month he warned the multi-million pound scheme might be scrapped if the plans were not approved. On Friday he said he was disappointed East Northamptonshire Council's planning officers advised councillors to reject the scheme.

He said: "If this gets turned down it may not happen at all.

"It is a real concern that people will think if they can stop this development it will go to Rushden – this is not the case.

"We have failed to find another available, affordable and suitable site. We looked at two sites in Rushden but they came to nothing."

Dr Newbold believes the NHS will have to tighten its belt financially and said there was no guarantee the trust would be able to secure funding in the next financial year if it has to go back to the drawing board.

The new centre would provide services including general surgery, urology, trauma and orthopaedics, ear, nose and throat, opthalmology, general medicine, x-ray and ultra sound and minor surgery.

The developers have said they will introduce a bus service every 30 minutes and provide free parking.

Dr Newbold added the new centre would benefit the district because it would mean fewer people would have to travel to Kettering for treatment, cutting journey times.

The development would also create new jobs and cut waiting times at Kettering General Hospital.