A NEW health centre in Burntwood remains on track, a county councillor has said.
Members of Lichfield District Council have raised concerns over delays to the construction of the facility on the former Burntwood Youth Centre site at Cherry Close.
Despite previous commitments from health chiefs that it would open in 2025, Cllr Robin Hall, Reform UK representative for Burntwood South at Staffordshire County Council, said there has been “no material change to the overall timetable” for the new facility.
He said a planning application was expected to be submitted in early summer, with construction then potentially starting in February 2027.
Cllr Hall added:
“The most important point is that the project continues to move forward and the target of delivering the health centre by September 2028 remains unchanged.
“Major developments like this require significant technical work before planning can be submitted. That includes surveys, highways design, consultations with utility providers and detailed design work.”
Lichfield MP Dave Robertson has written to Staffordshire County Council seeking clarity on the project due to the lack of action on the site.
But Cllr Hall said the project was only able to progress once the Integrated Care Board had approved the next step.
He said:
“Given that the NHS decision to move the project forward was only taken in December, it is difficult to see how claims of delays only a few months later are grounded in reality.
“This is not actually a statutory responsibility of the county council but we have stepped in to help drive the project forward because residents have waited a long time to see this facility delivered.”
