The hospital’s A&E faces overnight closure from 5 December due to a lack of staff. The NHS trust that runs the hospital says that can be avoided if it gets the A&E staff it needs. When the refurbishment of the houses has been completed, the Trust will offer the on-site accommodation for free to new recruits.

The donations have come from Hadley & Leegomery Parish Council (£5,000), Great Dawley Town Council (£5,000), Wellington Town Council (£4,800), Wrockwardine Wood and Trench Parish Council (£2,500) and Newport Town Council (£2,500).

Here’s what they had to say about the hospital and the project:

“We need to ensure this essential service is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for our ever expanding local community.” – Cllr Anne Watkins, Chair, Wrockwardine Wood & Trench Parish Council.

“Newport Town Council are very pleased and proud to be able to support such a worthy cause. We have supported the Princess Royal Hospital from day one and will continue to do so in the future.” – Cllr Peter Scott, Mayor of Newport.

“We are behind the project 100%. We stand by what we believe in, which is the doctors coming here. We believe they should be here. We will support it to the hilt.” - Malcolm Randle, Mayor of Great Dawley.

“We fought hard to get this hospital and we are going to fight even harder to maintain its integrity.” – Cllr John Smart, Mayor of Hadley and Leegomery and Cllr Pat Smart.

“At Wellington Town Council, we are happy to be involved in this unique collaborative working with Telford & Wrekin Council and to be given the opportunity to do something tangible such as donating £5,000 for the purchase of beds.” – Cllr Cindy Mason-Morris, Acting Mayor, Wellington.

Work on the houses began on Thursday 15 November when volunteers met to strip out the houses’ interiors and tidy up their overgrown gardens:

Cllr Shaun Davies, Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council said: “It’s great to see this work underway and already there is a noticeable difference.

“The idea of refurbishing these houses came from doctors as a tangle way of helping the hospital recruit the staff it so desperately needs. When I speak to staff at the hospital they are increasingly excited, especially now that they can see something happening on the ground.”