Proposals to build a new "super surgery" for the north west of Ipswich have taken a significant step forward after the borough formally agreed to go ahead with the next phase of the development.
The borough's executive unanimously agreed to go ahead with buying in consultancy services and to start the process that should ultimately lead to a new surgery being built on the former Took's bakery site at the junction of Bury Road and Old Norwich Road.
The new surgery for the Cardinal Medical Practice will replace the Chesterfield Drive and Norwich Road surgeries - the Deben Road surgery closed for almost all medical appointments earlier this year.
It will be built by Ipswich Council as part of its housing development at the site and then leased to the medical practice.
Work is currently scheduled to start on the new building at the start of 2024 and it should be ready to hand over to the practice in June 2025.
The new surgery was first proposed in 2017 following the experience of developing the Two Rivers Medical Centre on the other side of Ipswich.
At that time the three surgeries in North West Ipswich were run as separate practices, but they came together as a single body in 2020 after Deben Road was faced with a shortage of full-time GPs.
Once the new surgery is opened Chesterfield Drive and Deben Road buildings are likely to be disposed of - although the Norwich Road site is expected to be retained, mainly for administrative use.
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