A SMALL turf cutting celebration was held yesterday to mark the start of construction of the brand-new £5.5million health centre in Minchinhampton.

The new health centre will be built on Vosper Field in Cirencester Road, just over half a mile away from the current surgery. 

A small group of representatives from Minchinhampton Surgery, NHS Gloucestershire and construction company Markey Construction gathered at the site for a turf cutting celebration on Monday, October 23.

Once finished there will be 53 car parking spaces on the site as well as electric charge points and bike storage.

Bus stops and pavements are also included in plans.

Eco-friendly building materials will be used to make the new building as sustainable as possible and steps are being taken to protect and preserve conditions for biodiversity. 

Quantity surveyors, Carl Dean Associates, will be overseeing the project and construction work is expected to be completed in a year. 

Dr Tristan Cooper, GP partner at Minchinhampton Surgery, said: “We are really pleased that work on our new health centre is finally getting underway and we are very much looking forward to watching the centre take shape over the coming months.

"We engaged specialist medical architects Corstorphine & Wright who have designed a high-quality building that will fit into its surroundings and we hope it will be welcoming to all our patients, including those living with dementia and disabilities.

"The new premises will be more spacious, meaning the surgery team will have capacity to provide services to around 9,000 patients."