Work is set to start on the construction of the new Shaw Medical Centre this week.

The development based at the site of the former Shaw Baths on Westway, and led by United Healthcare Developments Ltd, is due to be completed by the end of summer 2024.

The new health centre will replace The Village Medical Practice and The Oak Gables Partnership which are currently in a building deemed not fit for purpose.

Previous plans for the centre were knocked back last April provoking outrage among councillors.

The Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group announced it was axing the original plans due to the proposal being branded unaffordable.

Shaw councillor and Liberal Democrat group leader, Howard Sykes, said at the time that the withdrawal of the plans had been a "massive kick in the teeth".

Several months later in November Oldham Council's planning committee then approved the plans. 

The Shaw Medical Centre will serve around 13,000 people across Shaw and Crompton and offer a wide range of medical facilities and services including GP, community and mental health, diabetes and respiratory clinics and specialist physiotherapy.

There will also be scope for shared facilities with the nearby Lifelong Learning Centre, which provides learning services for adults aged 19 and over.

Cllr Barbara Brownridge, 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.”