The Acland Hospital must relocate because its current home does not meet the standards required for a modern hospital, a planning inquiry was told.

Manager of the Acland, David Jowett, said the hospital's current home in Banbury Road, Oxford, could not cope sufficiently well with developments in medical technology.

"There is a whole range of services that we exclude from the hospital simply because of a lack of space," he said.

He was giving evidence at an inquiry into the future of the Manor Ground, in Headington, where the Acland wants to build a state-of-the-art hospital. Property developer Bellway Homes wants to build 90 flats as part of the joint scheme.

Plans were rejected by the city council amid fears the hospital would be overbearing and the surrounding roads would not be able to cope with the traffic.

The planned hospital would have 120 parking spaces - double the number the Acland has at present.

Mr Jowett told Government planning inspector Susan Hesketh: "Driving from the ring road into the heart of the city by car is extremely difficult. With fewer than 60 car parking spaces on the site, even delivering and collecting patients is extremely difficult."

Many of the hospital's staff would make their way to work by foot, bicycle, or via the Park-and-Ride, he said.

The number of beds would increase from 37 to 70 under the proposals. Most patients would be booked for surgery, rather than visit the hospital as an emergency.

The Acland, part of the independent Nuffield Hospital Group, said Headington would be the best site for the new hospital.

Mr Jowett said the hospital needed to be near the John Radcliffe Hospital to take advantage of Oxford's pool of doctors and consultants. He said staff would be able to walk between hospitals, cutting down on car journeys.

"In our view the Headington site is the most appropriate," he said.

The inquiry continues.