'Betrayed' Eastwood desperate for a new health facility
‘Betrayed’ Eastwood is pleading for funding support for a £31m health centre that could reshape health inequalities for residents.
Broxtowe Council has been pushing for a new health and leisure centre off Walker Street since 2022 but an unsuccessful ‘levelling up’ Government bid that same year left initial plans dormant.
The wider plans for a new centre involve a bigger library, a GP surgery, a pharmacy, a pool and community facilities.
Now, the decision on whether the project can progress soon is looming, after it was announced to Broxtowe councillors that the authority had submitted its own bid to the Government for full funding on April 17.
At a cabinet meeting on April 14, Coun Milan Radulovic (Brox All), council leader, spoke of health conditions such as cancer, type two diabetes, COPD, heart disease and stroke being higher in the town compared to the Nottinghamshire average.
He said the new health centre would include 26 doctor consulting rooms, more than a dozen nursing stations, a phlebotomy service, a women’s health and wellbeing centre and cancer screening.
Coun Robert Bullock (Brox All), Mayor of Broxtowe, reminded councillors of a similar project in Eastwood being cancelled by the incoming Conservative Government in 2010.
He said: “The people of Eastwood were let down by the previous Government and 16 years later we’re still waiting – I hope this current Government is going to take note.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Coun Radulovic said the town was ‘betrayed’ more than a decade ago, saying: “The (previous Government) have literally got blood on their hands because what they did was deprive a community of a health facility that was integral to the needs of the people in the area.
“The poor doctors in Eastwood, and nurses, they operate almost on a shoestring.
"For 16 years we’ve had to battle constantly with antiquated and outdated facilities that are totally unfit for purpose.”
The leader said the most up-to-date estimated cost for the project is around £31m and he was ‘confident’ the Government would part-fund the scheme at least.
He added the authority ‘won’t be cutting chunks’ out of the building’s purpose design if full Government funding is not given and it will seek to get the East Midlands Combined County Authority to ‘gap fund’ the rest.
If the council receives confirmation of any Government cash to help pay for the project then works could start on site in 2026.
Coun Radulovic said the full build-out could take at least 18 months.
Most of the existing site is empty, but the library, Citizens Advice Bureau and volunteer centre would be ‘de-camped’ elsewhere in the town while building works take place.
Coun Radulovic said the authority was ‘passionately appealing’ for the Government’s financial help, saying: “You either want to do this at Government level for the people, or you don’t and if they don’t, I will never forgive them.
“I think what happens with places like Eastwood is the health statistics are put into a bigger pot.
"So overall, the health statistics don’t look too bad, it’s no worse than anywhere else, until you start to look at the actual detail of it.
“We should not be in this position where we’re fighting for justice and fairness.”
The site would generate a ‘substantial amount of income’ from the doctor’s surgery, according to the leader, which could be used to ‘offset’ the building’s cost.
Plans for the pool include its use for therapeutic and rehabilitative purposes for those who need orthopaedic and respiratory support.