The trust running Essex County Hospital in Colchester has said the site will close within a year.

Colchester Hospital University Foundation Trust will transfer all services and departments by April 2015.

Some services at the Lexden Road site will move to Colchester General Hospital, while others will be placed in the community.

The cancer unit has already begun to moved from the Essex County to the Colchester General hospital site.

The aim is set out in A Focus on Quality, the trust’s operational plan for the next two years, which will be discussed when by the Board of Directors at a public meeting on Thursday.

Kim Hodgson, chief executive of the trust, said: “Essex County Hospital is cherished by staff, patients and the general public alike – hardly surprising when you consider how well it has served the people of Colchester and north east Essex for almost two centuries.

“Although parts of the hospital are now outdated, staff continue to provide first-class services in a friendly, personable atmosphere.

“Some staff have given many years of service at Essex County Hospital, so I understand this announcement about transferring off the site will be met with some sadness.”

No decision has yet been made about the future of the site.

The EADT asked last week if the site could be sold off to a developer to help plug an £8.1million shortfall faced by the trust.

However a trust spokesman said it was “far too early to say”.