An ambitious development designed to transform health services for thousands of people in south Waveney is poised to be given the go-ahead by planners this week.

An ambitious development designed to transform health services for thousands of people in south Waveney is poised to be given the go-ahead by planners this week.

After several years on the drawing board, proposals to build the South Waveney Healthy Living Centre - a one-stop shop for healthcare in Reydon, near Southwold - are recommended for approval by Waveney District Council's development control committee when it meets on Wednesday.

The multi-million pound scheme is centred on plans to revolutionise healthcare provision for up to 22,000 people from across the area, including Reydon, Southwold, Halesworth, Wangford and Wrentham, and includes a medical centre housing doctors, dentists and a pharmacy and a 60-bed residential care home.

Proposals for the South Waveney Healthy Living Centre have been in the pipeline for several years and it is hoped that it would be able to take in services from Southwold Hospital and the town's York Road surgery.

If approved, the development will also see 38 homes, two shop units and a new village green on the Eversley playing field site, on Wangford Road.

The plans, submitted by Hopkins Homes, show that the homes on the site would be a mix of houses and flats, with 13 affordable homes to help meet local needs.

A report to Waveney's planning committee recommends that the project is approved and called the plans a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide an enhanced central area for Reydon together with sought-after facilities both within, and also off, the site for the benefit of the local community and visitors to the area.”

The full business case for the scheme is scheduled to be discussed by the board of NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney in March.

Andy Peck, head of estates and risk for NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney, said: “This is an exciting project for everyone living in the south Waveney area and for us at the primary care trust.

“The centre, if approved, will serve 22,000 people and will support the development of integrated health services. Including GP provision, there will be a range of community services at the centre allowing local people to access a range of services without having to travel long distances to hospital for some treatment.”