The doors of Burford Hospital are open once again for the elderly - just weeks after being closed by a health trust to cut costs, writes Suzanne Huband.

The Healthy Living Centre has already opened and is used by social services, through Age Concern, to provide day care for about ten elderly people on Mondays and Fridays. A Burford-based specialist Alzheimer's unit, which does pioneering into the treatment of the disease, is using the building on Fridays.

Campaigners fighting to keep the hospital open have formed a company called the Burford Phoenix Trust with a view to buying the hospital. Oxfordshire Community Health Trust, which owns the site, has given the group the right to buy before anyone else. It closed the 12-bed hospital last month after approval from Health Secretary Alan Milburn.

Chris Davis, of the campaign group, said: "We are really making progress - the company has been formed and charitable status applied for. Things are moving very fast." The Burford Phoenix Trust is developing a business plan and drawing up a scheme to re-develop the hospital.

"We hope to build eight apartments for people with disabilities who will then be able to use the facilities of the Health Living Centre.

The sale of these will fund the purchase of the hospital.

The trust will be given the first option of buying them back when any come on the market," said Mr Davis.

The centre would include a small gym for use by the whole community and a computer centre.

"We are also negotiating with the adult education authority for health linked classes like yoga.

We want Burford Hospital to a be a hub of preventative medicine for people to help themselves, he added. The group will give details of its progress at a public meeting in the parish church on June 16 at 7pm.