Building work is set to begin on a long-awaited new health centre which will serve more than 13,000 Oldham residents.

The Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership has confirmed that construction of the new Shaw Medical Centre, based at the site of the former Shaw Baths on Westway, is scheduled to start next week.

The development, led by United Healthcare Developments Ltd, will begin on-site in August and is due to be completed by the end of summer 2024.

Approved in November last year, the brand-new health centre will replace The Village Medical Practice and The Oak Gables Partnership whose shared building has been deemed no longer fit for purpose by health chiefs.

A series of setbacks and U-turns had hit the project before it was officially signed off in June last year, and a planning application was lodged in September.

It follows years of campaigning by local councillors who had argued that Crompton Health Centre is run down and local people are being ‘disadvantaged’.

Bosses say that the new three-storey development will provide a ‘modern facility’ which offers a ‘wide range’ of medical facilities and services such as GP, community and mental health, diabetes and respiratory clinics and specialist physiotherapy.

It will serve more than 13,000 residents across Shaw and Crompton, and will also have scope for shared facilities with the nearby Lifelong Learning Centre which provides learning services for adults aged 19 and over.

Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Oldham’s cabinet member for health and social care said: “After so much hard work from everyone involved to get the plan created and approved, it is really exciting to start the process of building this much needed facility.

“The new Shaw Medical Centre will enable the delivery of enhanced primary care to existing local residents, while also allowing further provision of community and extended services to the ever-growing Shaw and Crompton population.

“We truly believe that by providing these state-of-the-art facilities, greater opportunity to undertake more consultations and examinations, and making it easier for people to access the health services they need in one place – that over time we will see a positive shift in the health and wellbeing of the local population."