The true cost of the failed Putney Hospital project emerged this week as figures revealed NHS Wandsworth spent £2.6m in eight years on planning and securing the troubled site.

Last month we reported plans for the dilapidated hospital, which is situated on Putney Common and has stood vacant for a decade, had been shelved because of an NHS budget freeze.

The figures show – as the multimillion pound project ground to a halt – millions were blown on planning and running costs (security and maintenance).

Wandsworth NHS blamed falling land values and the recession for the project’s failure, but community leaders and campaigners said the health authority could have developed sooner.

Putney MP Justin Greening, who obtained the figures, said: “A staggering £2.6m has been spent on a plan for Putney Hospital that now looks likely to never happen.

Worse, the costs will continue while the site lays derelict. It’s an expensive fiasco that has used funds that could have been used for better local healthcare for residents.”

Edward Lister, leader of Wandsworth Council, added: “If they’d got on with the job then they wouldn’t be in the financial mess they are today.

"What will really anger people though is the recent admission by NHS London that they may not be able to afford this development.”

An NHS Wandsworth spokeswoman said money was spent on “a huge amount of work” to assess the needs of residents, which would prove “invaluable” as they attempt to find suitable accommodation for the GP practices.

She said: “At the time the proposals were put forward in 2007, they were the right solution to address the healthcare needs of the area.

"Unfortunately, since then the financial climate has had a major impact, making the project in its current format unaffordable.”

Matthew Elliott, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said the situation was “appalling”.

The original hospital plan involved plans for three local GP practices, Balmuir Gardens Surgery, Putneymead Medical Centre and Disraeli Road, being fused into an all-purpose polyclinic on the southern half of the site.

A final decision on the hospital will be made after NHS Wandsworth’s September board meeting.