EASTLEIGH is to have a new health centre.

Town planners have approved the scheme to turn the Mitchell House in Southampton Road into a health centre.

It will provide accommodation for the existing Eastleigh GP practices St Andrews Surgery, Archers Practice and Parkside Practice.

A number of health and care services are also set to be provided at the centre and could include outpatients services such as audiology, midwifery, diabetes care, speech and language therapy, dermatology and respiratory.

Experts specialised in physiotherapy, children and social care and mental health could also be based there. The plans were put forward by West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

A CCG spokesman for West Hampshire CCG said: “We are very pleased that councillors are supporting this project, which is an exciting opportunity for local health and wellbeing services. It is still in its early stages and we will be talking further to local people and other key partners.”

Between 100 and 150 people are expected to work at the site but health bosses have not confirmed how many new jobs will be created.

The centre will be open until 11pm seven days a week and will include a pharmacy, a cafe and the Citizen Advice Bureau offices. A turning area for ambulances and 23 new parking spaces will be created at the back of the building.

Cllr Paul Bicknell, chair of ELAC, said: “It will be a good use of an empty building. It will be good for the community because it is pulling together all the NHS resources into one area.It will enable the NHS to expand other services in other locations, they get the ability to further enhance services on the sites of the other practices.”

The building was built in the 1980s and has been empty for the last couple of years.