Dartford Borough Council Cabinet will work with NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) to deliver a new medical centre at Steele Avenue.
The Swanscombe and Bean Partnership and Temple Hill Group GP practices will be brought together under one roof, replacing three outdated branch surgeries, Elmdene Surgery and Greenhithe Surgery (Swanscombe and Bean Partnership) and Ivy Bower Surgery (Temple Hill Group), creating a single, accessible location for high-quality primary medical care.
Through offering a wide range of services at a single location, designed around the needs of existing communities, it is hoped the modern facility will better serve local people and be equipped for the future.
Jeremy Kite, Leader of Dartford Borough Council, said: “We have taken action to unlock a major investment in the health and wellbeing of local residents.
“By bringing services together in a purpose-built, modern setting, we’re making it easier for people in Greenhithe and the surrounding area to access the care they rely on — in a building designed to support our communities now and in the years ahead.”
Read more: Doctors in England to go on strike for 5 days in the build-up to Christmas
Funded from NHS Capital funding, along with £3.6m of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which has already been committed by the Council, the Greenhithe Medical Centre will cost £9 million and is expected to be completed before the end of 2027.
Despite the delivery of health services not falling in the remit of the Council, it has decided to work with the NHS to jointly secure accessible services and improve health outcomes for Dartford residents.
Councillor Kite added: “Our Council is not normally responsible for healthcare delivery locally, but the truth is that without some action, this facility is unlikely to come forward and we are not the sort of Council to standby and allow that to happen.”
Ed Waller, Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer at NHS Kent and Medway, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Dartford Borough Council to deliver this priority healthcare estates project.
“The new facility will support improved patient access and experience, expansion of the workforce and provide for a predicted growth in patient numbers in the area.”
Swanscombe and Bean Partnership and Temple Hill Group provide primary medical care services from a number of surgeries and will continue to do so.
