DELAYS to the sale of the former Ledbury Cottage Hospital mean Britain in Bloom judges will see a boarded up building later this summer.

NHS Iventures, the body handling the sale to Edin-burgh-based Miller Group, is in the process of being privatised. The deal will now not go through until September at the earliest.

Michael Dooley, NHS Inventures building surveyor, said: "There have been numerous delays. The first date for the sale was September 2002, then April 2003.

"At present, the old hospital is still in the portfolio of the NHS and will not be marketed until the privatisation of NHS Inventures goes through."

The hospital, closed since March last year, is part of a £200m, 130-site portfolio of NHS buildings that Miller Group is looking to buy.

News of the delay has been met with dismay by members of the Ledbury in Bloom committee.

Chairman Tom Deane had already expressed concerns about the amount of litter the Homend building was attracting.

His wife, Mary, the committee secretary, said: "Tom and I have been round there picking up the litter and this Sunday we shall be picking it up again. It's an eyesore, and the boarding is horrible."

This year, Ledbury is to be judged in both regional and national competitions. The national judges have stated that no town that is dirty will be considered for an award.

But judges also accept the unavoidable circumstances of a working town.

The boarded up and burnt-out Seven Stars pub did not prevent Ledbury from becoming the overall winner of the Heart of England region last year.

Town councillor Peter Watts, chairman of its planning committee, said: "I would like to see the site developed as soon as possible, and for the structure of the building to remain intact, because it is important to the town.

"What I don't want is to see it fall into disrepair."