York confectionary giant Nestle has sold four-and-a-half acres of its huge Haxby Road site to a private healthcare firm.

The sweets conglomerate has signed a deal with the Nuffield Hospitals Trust, which plans to build a new hospital on the site.

The health group had been searching for a site to replace its York facility, the Purey Cust Hospital, which will close when the new hospital opens in 2004.

The deal is understood to incorporate nearby "associated land" - but not the Joseph Rowntree Theatre.

The theatre facility, which was built by Joseph Rowntree for his employees, is home to the Joseph Rowntrees Players - a theatrical ensemble of company employees.

The chocolate firm's two-storey dining block at Haxby Road is used by a number of the company's sports and social clubs and is also the base for several pensioner groups' activities.

The clubs are now in talks with Nestle over alternative arrangements.