Frustration over delayed healthcare centre

A councillor has said she is disappointed with a lack of progress on a new health centre in Staffordshire, while the current facility operates in a portable building.

Burntwood Health Centre, Salters Meadow Practice and the Darwin branch practice in Chasetown are to relocate, under plans which were expected to be submitted in April.

But councillor Sue Woodward told a meeting at Lichfield District Council there had been "delay upon delay upon delay" for the £10.7m building.

The local Integrated Care Board (ICB) has described the new building as a priority.

The meeting of the overview and scrutiny meeting heard pressure was being applied to Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB for a meeting, and it was understood that a recent change in personnel has contributed to some of delays.

Under the plans, the centre would have treatment rooms, waiting area, showers and office space and was expected to be completed by December 2027.

According to the ICB - which was awarded £1.1m for a new primary health centre by the council in February - the base was a top five priority and would be future-proof until 2035.

Currently, Burntwood Health and Wellbeing Centre is operating out of a portable building.

But Udall said the application was still nowhere to be seen.

"There's still no planning application for the new health centre. It was supposed to be submitted by the end of April – it still hasn't been submitted.

"At the very least we need to know what the planning application is going to look like. It obviously is not going to be completed by the end of 2025 now and it would take some time to go through the planning process.

"So it's not likely to even start until next year. So delay upon delay upon delay."

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

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