Plans for a new "super surgery" which would serve 20,000 people in north Kent have been postponed.

In 2021 it was revealed a giant medical centre would be coming to Steele Avenue, Greenhithe, bringing together three existing GP practices.

Now, just over a year later, the plans have been put under review due to rising costs and "financial challenges".

The proposals from the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) were subject to approval by Dartford council who are supportive of the proposal which would cater for a growing demand for health services in the borough.

The postponement of the plans near Kind Edward Road have been labelled a "body blow" with health leaders describing GP provision locally as "untenable".

In November 2021 private talks over the NHS-led proposal were held by Kent County Council (KCC), where it was agreed to sell vacant greenfield land on the Steele Avenue site, which has been owned by the authority since 1973, to deliver the medical centre.

It was hoped the new medical centre would be built by September 2023, with a developer starting work on the site from August 2022 – but so far no work has begun.

In a letter sent to the Kent and Medway NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) and community representatives and seen by KentOnline, the patient participation group (PPG) at the Swanscombe and Bean Partnership expressed their concerns that the postponement could be "indefinite".

The partnership oversees several local practices affected including Greenhithe Surgery, Ivy Bower Surgery and Elmdene Surgery.

"This decision to postpone the project indefinitely seems to be based on value for money and affordability," the letter said. "It is not cost-effective, apparently.

"That is bonkers given the expansion of Ebbsfleet Valley."

It claims those GP surgeries have absorbed 98% of the incoming population increase and warns the situation is fast becoming "untenable".

Presently 32,000 patients are cared for by the Partnership – a number growing by more than a thousand patients each year, it says.

It adds: "The pressure on the people providing the services, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and their support staff is increasing significantly, and the quality of healthcare provided to existing patients is at risk."

It's understood the Partnership has been told it has funding for extra clinicians and healthcare workers but says it has nowhere to accommodate them.

Kelvin Reynolds, chairman of the Swanscombe and Bean Partnership PPG, said: "There is nothing integrated or caring about this decision of the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board.

"This is an absurd decision of the ICB given their knowledge of the expanding population at Ebbsfleet, over 98% of whom have joined us for their healthcare."

Dartford Council leader Jeremy Kite said: "The decision makes no sense and it really is time for the senior planners in the local health service to stop kicking the ball down the road.

"Local people need proper health services and Dartford Borough Council has been ready to help with funding and support.

"I think one of the problems is that NHS planning seems stuck in a ‘theoretical’ phase and is constantly moving on to the next idea without delivering the last one.

"We have offered several locations to the local health service over the years and yet there always seems to be some reason why they don’t proceed. It’s really not acceptable. "

Emma Ben Moussa (Lab), who represents an adjacent ward in Swanscombe, said: "If this news is confirmed it will be a body blow for the local area.

"The new health centre is urgently needed and cancelling the project is going to put intolerable pressure on existing services like Swanscombe Health Centre.”

Labour spokesman for Ebbsfleet Jonathon Hawkes added: “This is a terrible decision and NHS managers and the government need to urgently think again.

"This is a growing area, with families making their home here all the time.

The former Dartford cllr added: "We were promised additional healthcare facilities to support the local community but those promises to residents are being broken.

"This is a stark example of the impact on Dartford of a decade of underinvestment in the NHS.

"Labour in Dartford will oppose this decision and urge a rethink – our community deserves better than being let down in this way."

Penny Cole, Kent County Councillor for Dartford East (Con), said she still expects the planning application for the new GP hub to be submitted shortly.

She said: "I have been pushing to get a GP hub on the King Edward Road site for several years now, and since the NHS pulled out of the Atlas Park proposal, so I really hope that the delay is not too long, and negotiations are completed as soon as possible, as the residents in Stone and Greenhithe would benefit hugely from a new purpose built GP hub rather than the three very small surgeries that are in existence at the moment.

"I am assuming there are plans for a GP hub/surgery in Ebbsfleet but as it is not in my division I cannot say when or where this will be built."

A spokesperson for NHS Kent and Medway said: “All NHS building projects are subject to review and affordability assessments to make sure they are value for money.

"Due to a range of external factors, including a rise in the cost of building materials, the scheme in Greenhithe is posing financial challenges.

“We realise this is disappointing news for patients, but we will continue to work with the practice, developers and landowners to identify interim solutions and find a way forward.”

Dartford council says it has not yet received a planning application for the new health centre but is working with the NHS as part of their bid for community infrastructure levy funding to support the project.

Any bid will be submitted to cabinet for a decision, it says.

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson was approached for comment.