A HORWICH councillor has revealed that "another step forward" has been made in plans to develop a new health and wellbeing hub in the town centre.
Horwich Northeast councillor Marie Brady says a developer has been appointed and a planning application is expected in the summer.
A final plan has yet to be agreed but she says more car parking spaces are being considered. A planning application is expected in the summer.
Planning permission for the hub on land opposite the new leisure centre in Victoria Road, the site of the former and demolished leisure centre, was originally given in 2016.
Iin a consultation exercise people in the town were invited to have their say on the plans to bring forward the development, which would be the home for GP services.
The proposal would see GP services relocated to the new hub. The hub would also have a 170-space car park.
An artist's impression of what the hub could look like was also issued to mark the start of a new public consultation exercise on the plan.
The building would become the new home of Pikes View Medical Centre and Bolton Community Practice, which would join up community services from the Royal Bolton Hospital Foundation Trust.
Health chiefs say the move will create "a huge opportunity" for the merger of health, wellness, and leisure services in the town.
The new health centre would provide a range of clinical services and treatments and be home to a primary care team of pharmacists, physicians, nurses and mental health practitioners offering a seven-day extended service.
The plans could also allow for some services such as MR scanning to be provided at the hub rather than at the hospital, meaning patients could be treated locally.
The proposal for a new health centre was previously outlined as an option for the former leisure centre site in a consultation undertaken to develop Horwich's Town Centre Masterplan in January 2020.
At the time of the consultation the proposal received "positive feedback" but the need for additional parking was highlighted.