A new £13 million health centre has been given the go-ahead in central Ashford.

It follows a successful bid for government funding from Eastern and Coastal Kent NHS.

Construction work is expected to start late next year and it could be open in spring 2012 on the old Ashford hospital site in King’s Avenue.

The Department of Health will contribute £9 million with the remainder coming from the local NHS budget.

Work is now underway to confirm the full range of services that will be delivered from the new health hub. They are likely to include outpatient services, better co-ordinated services for older people, sexual health services and some X-ray and scanning services.

Chief Executive of NHS Eastern and Coastal Primary Care Trust, Ann Sutton, said: “With its growing population Ashford clearly merits the expansion of healthcare premises. We have been working hard to ensure that health needs are met by investing in local facilities”.

The development will relieve some of the pressure on the William Harvey hospital and delivery care closer to urban homes.