THE long-awaited construction of Chapelford Health Centre is in sight following a ‘raft of difficulties’.

NHS chiefs confirmed work on the building will begin over the coming months after the lease agreement was signed.

The site has been operating out of a portable unit, on Burtonwood Road, for more than a decade following repeated setbacks and problems with funding.

Representatives from NHS Property Services, NHS Warrington Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS England (Cheshire and Merseyside) have been meeting weekly over the past three months to drive progress for the new surgery forward.

“We are pleased to say that the lease agreement between provider Dr Dan Bunstone and NHS Property Services has been signed, which is a significant development in terms of moving the project forward,” said an NHS England (Cheshire and Merseyside) spokeswoman.

“There are still the usual legal processes to go through, which are being managed by NHS Property Services, but NHS England (Cheshire and Merseyside) anticipates that work on the build will begin over the coming months.”

Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid welcomed the ‘significant piece of progress’ but he remains concerned.

He said: “Ever since I was a councillor responsible for the Chapelford area, I have been determined to ensure that the health centre was delivered.

“Now, as MP for the area, I have not given up on this ambition.

“The completion of the lease agreement is a significant piece of progress, which I welcome.

“However, I remain concerned that we still only have a vague idea of the timing of the commencement of the build.

“I will be keeping a very close eye on this project and will continue to call for definitive information.

“The project has been beset by a raft of difficulties, which have caused real problems for many of my constituents.

“The residents of Chapelford have waited too long to have a fit-for-purpose healthcare provision in the heart of their community and I will not rest until Chapelford Health Centre is up and running.”

Chapelford and Old Hall councillors Steve Parish, Rebecca Knowles and Paul Warburton have also responded to the latest developments.

In a joint statement, they said: “The health centre was on the original blueprint for Chapelford but so many years and reports of progress have since passed by that many residents are saying that they will ‘believe it when they see it’.

“However, it is very welcome news that the start of building work now seems imminent.

“We are asking for some clarity over the arrangements for the GP patient list, more detail on what the new facility will offer, when it will open and also on arrangements for the eventual removal of the unsightly temporary building, on Burtonwood Road, that the community has had to use for far too long.”

Last November, the council’s development management committee passed proposals for a new GP surgery in Chapelford, on land adjacent to the Sainsbury’s supermarket.

Planning permission had originally been given for the surgery in 2002, as part of the original application for the Chapelford development, on the site of the old RAF Burtonwood airbase.

However, it expired in May last year due to a condition that building work must begin within 15 years.