The green light has been given for work to begin on a new multi-million pound health centre in Raynes Park.
By Charlie Byrne and Ellie Gibbs
The green light has been given for work to begin on a new multi-million pound health centre in Raynes Park.
Planning permission was granted on December 10th for two existing GP surgeries to merge at the Selsey House and Lambton Road site.
The centre will be an NHS funded primary care trust. Developers expect work to begin next month and hope it will be finished within 18-24 months.
“It’s going to be a state of the art 21st century health centre,” said one of the partners, Dr Howard Freeman.
“We’re hoping it’s going to be the future of local health care.”
It is believed the centre will be big enough to cater for the future expansion of health services and projected population increases in the coming years.
The new building is expected to house ante-natal and post-natal clinics, a diabetes clinic, a dentist, a pharmacy and even minor surgery rooms. It will also have car parking and bicycle lock-up facilities.
It is hoped that more patients will be treated solely at the centre without having to be transferred to hospital.
Councillor Rod Scott of the Raynes Park ward said there were a small number of objectors to the proposal who feared the size of the development and the demolition process of the current site.
“Demolition of the current site shouldn’t take long at all and hopefully it won’t cause too much inconvenience to surrounding residents.
“If this project hadn’t been given the go ahead then the site would’ve no doubt been turned into a housing complex with retail facilities and we already have enough of those,” he said.
“It will be a big development but at least the centre will be quiet on weekends whereas a housing complex would be busy round the clock.”
Mountford Piggot, the architects in charge of the development, have previously completed projects for the likes of Sainsbury’s and Barclays Bank.
