PLANS for a £16m health centre in Hartlepool have been given the go-ahead.

The board of the North-East Strategic Health Authority has backed proposals for the project, two weeks after it received planning permission from Hartlepool Borough Council.

The modern and well-equipped centre, on the former Barlow's print factory site in Park Road, is expected to cater for about 1,000 patients a day.

It will provide diagnostic and treatment facilities, including x-rays and scans, and a wide range of community health services.

It will also include community dentistry and a pharmacy.

The four GP practices involved in the town centre scheme are the Havelock Practice and Bank House Surgery, in the health centre, Victoria Road, Chadwick House Practice, from the York Road Surgery, and the Grange House Surgery, in Grange Road.

Hartlepool Primary Care Trust (PCT) is leading the development, which is planned to open in a little more than two years.

Steve Wallace, chairman of the PCT, said: "This approval by the North-East Strategic Health Authority means we are a massive step closer to opening this facility and to being able to deliver 21st Century health care to the people of Hartlepool.

"This will bring much improved accommodation and services right into the heart of the town, where they can be easily accessed by all."

The news was warmly welcomed by Hartlepool mayor Stuart Drummond.

He told The Northern Echo yesterday: "I am delighted that this scheme is finally starting to come to fruition.

"It is a scheme that has long been promised and, when it opens, the health centre will offer fabulous facilities on a convenient town centre site that local people will find more accessible."

Ian Dalton, chief executive of the North- East Strategic Health Authority, said: "Huge investments are being made to provide the best possible services for people in the North-East - services that are safe, effective and of the highest standard. More convenient services, provided closer to peoples' homes, is a priority and this multi-million pound investment is very positive news for Hartlepool."