The future of the town’s mental health ward is up for debate in a new consultation.

Bosses at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), which runs mental health services, provoked outrage when they proposed closing the Millbrook Unit at Macclesfield Hospital as part of a redesign of services.

A public consultation was delayed when councillors asked them to go back to the drawing board and look at all options. Now CWP has produced a new document with three proposals.

This includes an option to keep the Millbrook Unit open, by reducing community mental health services. But CWP states that mental health professionals do not consider this viable – meaning the unit remains at risk.

The building – which has 44 mental illness beds and 14 for dementia – does not meet modern standards and closing it could save £1.1 million per year.

There is also a new option on the table, to focus on improving community services and move inpatient care for adults to Bowmere Hospital in Chester, but keep care for people over 65 in Macclesfield, at Lime Walk House. There would be 10 dementia beds and 12 for mental illness.

And the third option is to close the unit and provide inpatient care from Bowmere Hospital in Chester and Springview Hospital in Wirral, again with increased services by community teams nearer to people’s homes in Macclesfield.

Coun Laura Jeuda, said: “There was such an outcry about closing Millbrook last time but this is the same as before. How are people going to travel for care? Macclesfield needs its own unit.”

Lime Walk House, on Victoria Road, is the town’s longer term rehabilitation and assessment mental health unit. If the change goes ahead the rehabilitation service would move to CWP’s Soss Moss site near Nether Alderley.

A CWP spokesman said: “We care about local people’s views and identified an option that retains older people’s services in Macclesfield at Lime Walk House. No decisions have been made yet and we are committed to continuing to work with people who access our services, their carers and staff to improve mental health outcomes. We will be holding public events and encourage people to have their say.”

The consultation is due next month but no date has been confirmed.