Construction of a brand new home for a GP practice whose current building is of the “worst quality” could begin in October.

Planning permission was secured in November to build a new purpose-built facility for Weston-super-Mare’s Graham Road GP practice at the rugby club redevelopment.

Tim James, estates manager for the area’s integrated health board, told North Somerset Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel on Thursday February 16: “We are working towards getting onto site and starting construction in October this year.”

Health bosees had wanted to open the site in spring 2023 but delays in receiving planning permission held the process up.

The plan was originally for a two storey building solely for the surgery, but now a five storey building with Sirona and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership using the three top floors is being planned.

The current home of the Graham Road practice, whose 11,700 patients include some of the area’s most deprived, is a Vicotrian building which Mr James said was “ageing and not ideal.”

Dr Chris Chubb, associate clinical director of Pier Health (a super-partnership of GP practices in Weston-super-Mare) and a GP himself, said: “We have found ourselves in a state where we have got the worst quality estate serving a population who are more in need.”

But he added: “The good news is that the system recognised this.”

NHS England has provided £3.2m to close and relocate the surgery.

A 12 week consultation on the move was carried out in 2021, including workshops with a number of minority groups.

Dr Andrew Cummings, site lead GP at Graham Road, added: “We sent letters to 8,000 patients. We also texted patients as well and we sent out 73 group surveys.”

Some people have criticised the rugby club location, which is less central than the Graham Road site and across the railway.

Dr Chubb said transport was “the elephant in the room” but that for the half of patients who drove to the practice, parking would be easier at the new site, and that for the third of patients who walk, it would mostly not be much longer.

He said: “There’s never going to be a perfect option for moving. There’s always going to be some disadvantages but this will be far and away the best option.”

It was chosen out of 17 sites considered for redevelopment into the new surgery. Dr Chubb added: “I don’t think there’s a disused building in Weston that Tim and I didn’t trudge around.”

The new practice is expected to be able to take on up to 15,000 patients.

A full business case will go to NHS England in April.