GP service opens after six-month delay

A new GP service to support thousands of new homes has opened following a six-month delay.

The £11m Magna Medical Centre in Rackheath, near Norwich, opened earlier this year, but the GP practice was delayed due to negotiations between NHS Property Services and Hoveton & Wroxham Medical Practice, which will run the service.

The medical centre has been built to serve the growing village, where 4,000 homes are due to be built on a former airbase.

Martin Murrell, Conservative district councillor for Wroxham, said "years of campaigning" had helped deliver the new facility. People could now register for the GP service.

"It is really fantastic we have got this before all of the building is happening. We have infrastructure first, which is really unheard of," he said.

The opening was a "huge relief" following the delays, he added.

The 2021 census recorded about 2,100 people living in Rackheath.

The medical centre is expected to serve up to 10,000 patients, many of whom are expected to live on the new estate.

The area is also due to benefit from a new pharmacy, dentist and optician.

Murrell said he expected "spades in the ground" fairly soon in relation to those services.

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