Health and community centre to be demolished

An artist's impression of how a new centre on Wallace Road may look

Council planners in Wolverhampton have given the go-ahead for a health and community centre to be demolished.

It comes amid proposals for the building in Bilston to be replaced with a new medical centre, pharmacy and social hub.

The scheme's developer said the existing Bradley Health and Community Centre on Wallace Road was no longer big enough to accommodate the needs of the current surgery and its patients.

It addition, it said, the premises did not fully comply with current health and safety requirements.

A spokesperson for Tamworth-based planning agents Corstorphine and Wright said: “It is not possible to extend the premises on the current site and other development sites have been considered but are unviable.

“Also, there is no scope for improved patient services by internal redesign."

But under the planned project, they added, patients would "benefit from improved privacy and dignity arrangements, better safety and security, greatly improved disabled access, the provision of an on-site pharmacy which will be integrated with the practice, access to a range of clinical services within one facility and an increase in car parking provisions for both staff and patients".

They said services normally provided at a hospital or other local clinics could also be provided at the new building, freeing up facilities for specialist procedures, in line with government policy.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.