WORK is under way on a new, health centre in Colburn, near Catterick Garrison

Local GP, Dr Eric Troughton, cut the first turf at a ceremony yesterday lunchtime, marking the start of the £800,000 project, which should be completed by autumn, and will give the area some of the best health services in the region.

Designed by specialists Trinity Medical Properties, and constructed by Randall Orchard, it will replace facilities in Broadway, Catterick Garrison.

It will include a small operating theatre and recovery room for outpatients, an additional treatment room and space for four offices for local GPs.

A carer, health visitor, district nurse and a dietician will have their own rooms in the two-storey building, which will house a physiotherapy department and a massage and therapy centre.

An office will be set aside for a visiting consultant, saving some patients a long trip to Northallerton or Cleveland.

The building is going up on land originally destined for industry, but Richmondshire District Council approved the health centre after 500 people signed a petition urging it to support the project.

The scheme also includes a pedestrian crossing in Catterick Road, and a new access to the nearby Walkerville Industrial Estate.

* Colburn hosts a briefing on the future of health services in the district on Thursday.

Ken Hoskins of the Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Group is the guest speaker at an open forum at the village hall at 10.30am, where the emphasis will be on services for the over 60s.