Existing pilot outpatient services would be made permanent with the funding and be expanded to provide many thousands more outpatient hospital appointments.
Wantage Town Council urged this week that there be no delay in securing funding available for the hospital, and it had the support of the Oxfordshire County Council Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee.
The committee agreed it would continue to scrutinise the plan going forward, which would see the hospital modernised, along with additional hospital services in the spring of 2025.
Recommendations to accept these proposals are to be made to the Oxfordshire Health Board later this month.
The NHS will also hold planning meetings with specialist teams and local stakeholders to determine which extra specialisms can be offered.
The Wantage Town Council health committee have been engaging with the NHS over the last six months to test out what types of acute services can be offered once works to modernise the hospital are completed.
A report discussed at a public meeting held last week recommended outpatient services be secured as services.
Officials also discussed how hospital clinics could expand to cover a mix of specialities with a view to over 30,000 visits to local hospital clinics rather than travelling outside the local area.
Councillors learnt that the NHS confirmed to the Vale of White Horse District Council that it will be making a formal application and next steps to secure the funds for the plan.
Cllr Jenny Hannaby, chair of Wantage Town Council health committee, said: “After seven years I am looking forward to continuing to work with the NHS to get the most of the services indicated by the surveys and engagement with the community.
“Most people did not wish to lose the ophthalmology.
“The proposals, when delivered, will bring in an era where thousands of people can access a mix of specialist services for young and old, and this could save over 30,000 journeys by local residents who would otherwise have to travel to the John Radcliffe.”
A local stakeholder group including community leaders have been actively looking for a solution to the temporary status of hospital services since 2016.
Cllr Andrew Crawford said: “It was necessary to find a local sustainable solution for the hospital for the next few years until this national context improves.
“We will continue to work for improved provision from the NHS and we are pleased that the NHS has said it will keep discussions open on urgent care.
“The previous conservative administration signed off developments for 5,000 local new houses without a single penny being secured for NHS health infrastructure.”
Cllr Jane Hanna OBE, who led the committee, said: “Two previous attempts to reopen the hospital with a plan for a permanent and positive future for residents have failed since 2016.
“The HOSC committee this week thanked all involved for their intense work of engagement.
“The only public request to the cross party committee was that it did not make recommendations that delayed urgent work to secure a future for the hospital.
“With the growing population it is essential that there is a funded plan as a secure foundation, and that Wantage has been chosen for a timetabled plan for new hospital services to help people locally”