AN ageing health centre is to be rebuilt thanks to a £1.25m investment in primary care.

The new Park Place Health Centre, in Darlington, will be built in the car park next to the present building to minimise disruption to patients.

At its board meeting Darlington Primary Care Trust approved the scheme to house a doctor's practice, community dental services and a vulnerable witness suite.

Foot health services may transfer to the Hundens Lane centre after consultation.

Hundens Lane already specialises in caring for elderly people.

The board heard that the present Park Place Health Centre had fallen into disrepair over the years and a full refurbishment would have cost £900,000.

Members felt this did not seem good value when a new centre could be built for only a little more and when the Strategic Health Authority had offered to provide the finance.

Trust director of finance Peter Chrisp said: "Trying to do anything with the existing building would have been pouring good money after bad so we have looked at other ways forward."

The board also considered a private finance initiative, whereby the centre would have been built by a developer and the trust would have become a tenant on a long-term lease.

Mr Chrisp said the trust was drawing up a feasibility study, which would be ready after Christmas.

This would come back to the board for approval and then the project would go out to tender, with the new centre, which will have 3,500 patients and two GPs.

The centre is expected to open next October.

Sandra Pollard, chairwoman of the primary care trust, said: "This is good news, particularly for the patients and staff in Park Place."

The decision was made two months after the £1m Parkgate surgery opened in the town.

It was developed by Jarvis Health Care Protection for 12,000 patients in the Victoria Road area and is rented from Jarvis by the trust.

The building, which opened in October, has eight consulting rooms, counselling facilities, a baby clinic, nurse accommodation, a conference suite and a kitchen.