A NEW health centre at Pickersleigh Road could prevent two surgeries from moving to Townsend Way.

Malvern Hills District Council is proposing to sell two acres of land at its Pickersleigh Road depot to South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust.

If the trust takes up the offer, a new, state-of-the-art facility would be built there to replace surgeries that have outgrown their existing premises at Victoria Park and Court Road.

As part of the deal, the council would ask the PCT to commit itself to a new hospital at Seaford Court and publish a timetable for the work.

The proposals will be put to a specially convened meeting of the council at Priory Lodge Hall at 7pm on Tuesday, June 3.

The decision has to be taken quickly because the PCT board is set to make a decision on June 4.

Its original plans to relocate the two medical practices to purpose-built premises on Townsend Way provoked heated opposition.

Spokesman Janet Ferguson confirmed that the PCT would prefer to move to land at the Pickersleigh Road depot rather than a site at Townsend Way.

"The district council has been very helpful," she said. "We're looking forward to this new opportunity to work with them and will wait to see what full council says."

Councillors also agreed to set aside £50,000 to fund contamination surveys at the depot, which was once home to a gas works.