A new state-of-the-art health centre may finally be set for an opening date after nearly four months of waiting for services to start.
Work to build a much need health centre for Little Lever finished earlier this year but £5.2m facility is empty of health services.
It was set to house three GP surgeries as well as other medical services and library facilities, with a first look inside granted last December.
The library moved into its new location in February but now questions have been asked about when doctors’ services, which were intended to open in March.
Little Lever Cllr Sean Hornby said: “It has now been nearly four months since the library moved to its new location and the last I was told as chairman of the Steering Group was we are looking at September at the earliest due to staff issues finalising the contracts and issues of allocations of rooms.”
The new health centre has been designed to be "eco-friendly"
He added: “I was also promised a full briefing to discuss further, this has not happened as of yet, so I would be grateful for an update.”
The new health centre has been in development since 2014, with Little Lever’s old GP building on Mytham Road falling into disrepair and deemed by Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group to be no longer fit for use.
The new 1,206 square metre steel frame and brick building, located on the site of the former Tesco Metro on Foundry Street, has been designed to be “eco-friendly” and includes solar panels.
Three GP surgeries will be moving into the new centre
Cllr Hornby says that since the library moved into the building it has proven to be a “massive success” since it opened on the site on February 28 with sometimes more than 200 visitors each day.
He believes the space will become yet more popular once the new GP surgeries open.
The new health centre has been in the pipeline since 2014
In response, Bolton Council cabinet member for regeneration Cllr Adele Warren said that she now hopes to see the relocation of the doctors’ surgeries completed in August to September this year.
She said: “This facility highlights this administration’s commitment to investing in our district centre’s across the borough.”
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