Secretary of state for health and social care Jeremy Hunt announced the funding and claimed that it was the largest investment of its kind in the NHS in more than 10 years.

The funding will support 40 NHS hospitals and community services which will use the funding on programmes to meet local demand, including delivering new urgent care centres and refurbishing mental health facilities.

Some £300m of funding will be allocated to the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) for the renewal of its local hospital services.

The STP proposes to use the funding to develop an emergency care site and a separate planned care sites, with 24-hour ugent care centres at both sites.

•   Government to invest almost £300m to deliver thousands of homes
•   Former hospital site sold to housebuilder for £40m
•   Former NHS building to be converted into luxury apartments

The remainder of funding will be awarded to 39 smaller projects, including:

• £6m to upgrade services of eight trusts across Yorkshire
• £8m for a new health and wellbeing centre to join up local NHS services in Kent
• £13m for two new urgent care centres in Newton Abbot and Torquay, and refurbishment of Torbay Hospital’s A&E department
• several million pounds for local NHS services in London, including one project worth up to £11m

“As the NHS approaches its 70th birthday, we are backing it with one of the largest capital programmes in NHS history,” said Mr Hunt.

“As well as a whole new emergency care development in Shropshire, we are backing local NHS services with new buildings, beds and wards so that staff who have been working incredibly hard over winter can have confidence we are expanding capacity for the future.

“Further major projects are also under consideration across the country and we intend to announce one large-scale scheme the size of the Shrewsbury and Telford plan every year going forward based on high-quality plans coming forward from local NHS leaders.”