A PROJECT to create a health and wellbeing centre next to the river Severn has been approved by the city council allowing for millions of pounds worth of government investment funding to be freed up.
Worcester city council's policy and resources committee approved the Severn Centre for Health and Wellbeing project, in Hylton Road, which will receive an instalment of £2.5m.
The City Council secured the funding as part of a £19.6m boost from the National Towns Fund, after proposing five schemes to boost the economy, promote active travel and provide new skills training for local people.
The National Towns Fund consists of a £3.6 billion pot, investing in towns and cities across the UK, as part of the government's plan to level up our regions.
Leader of Worcester City Council,Cllr Marc Bayliss, said: “The near £20m of investment that the Towns Fund will bring to Worcester represents a major boost for our city.
“It will help us deliver the vision set out in our new City Plan, one of a prosperous Worcester with stronger and connected communities who are healthy and active. It will help us to enhance and sustain our beautiful city for future generations and ensure Worcester is a successful heritage city with a 21st Century culture.
“The Severn Centre for Health and Wellbeing is the first of five projects to come forward and, at a time when health services are at the forefront of our minds like never before, will make a significant contribution to training up the health experts that the NHS and other local services need.”
A portion of the money will also go to support the development of the University of Worcester’s £20m learning centre under development on Hylton Road.
The money is said to boost the capacity of the new health centre, delivering health training to 1,500 students per year and creating 100 new jobs.
University of Worcester’s Vice Chancellor, Professor David Green CBE DL, said: “The University is very grateful to the city council for this vital financial support.
“This completely re-purposed building will create new specialist clinical education facilities which will enable us to educate many more nurses, doctors, paramedics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other health professionals who are so badly needed by the NHS and the people of the city and surrounding areas.”
The business cases for the remaining four Towns Fund projects will be brought before the Policy and Resources Committee in the new year.
The projects include, Active travel, Heritage and riverside, Community level skills and training and a plan to regenerate the wider Shrub Hill area.
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