AN air of mystery hangs over plans by un-named local businessmen and medical specialists in west Surrey to open a diagnosis and treatment centre on the site of the former ambulance station in Haslemere.

If the scheme went ahead, it could reduce waiting times by increasing the number of spaces available for surgery and making treatment more effective.

The site of just over a third of an acre, jointly owned by Surrey County Council and Surrey Ambulance, was sold for an undisclosed sum, reputed to be in the region of three-quarters of a million pounds, to housing developers Phoenix Land Developments last year.

An SCC spokesman said the deal, following the sale of the land, was signed last Thursday.

Planning permission to build eight homes followed a protracted debate. It eventually came with an agreement to pay Waverley Borough Council £90,000 in planning gain to be used towards a community project.

A spokesman for Medical Pages, a private group with offices in the grounds of the King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst, has confirmed its interest in the site.

The company acts on behalf of consultants to develop web sites, generate e-commerce and establish medical and surgical chambers

A spokesman told The Herald on Wednesday: "I can confirm the local consortium of consultants and businessmen in west Surrey are fully aware an offer has been made on the existing Haslemere ambulance station site, but it is subject to the developer entering into a legal agreement to pay a significant sum of money for local community services. This significantly narrows the profit margin on developing this site and there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached."

Michael Richards from Phoenix Land Developments denied it had changed its mind over the housing development and told The Herald that construction was "due to start within the next couple of months".

Diagnosis and Treatment Centres (DTCs) have been designed as part of a government drive to meet targets of a maximum six-month in-patient waiting times by December, 2005.