Health bosses welcome green light for next stage of Newtown health project

Plans for a new health and wellbeing hub in Newtown have taken a significant step forward after the Welsh Government approved the project’s Outline Business Case.

The decision allows Powys Teaching Health Board and Powys County Council to move ahead with the next stage of developing detailed plans for the proposed facility, which could eventually bring nearly £30 million of investment to North Powys.

The proposed hub would be built on the site of the current Y Parc offices in Newtown and aims to bring a wide range of health, wellbeing and community services together under one roof.

Powys County Councillor Pete Roberts, the council’s Portfolio Holder for a Caring Powys, welcomed the announcement.

“This is welcome news for the residents of northern Powys,” he said.

“This means we can move forward with the next stage of the work. Officers will now be looking at all the feedback from the public sessions before Christmas as they develop revised plans that will lead to a planning application.

“There will be another opportunity for the public to comment on the draft application and I encourage everyone to get involved in the next stage of the work.”

The proposed building would be an energy efficient, modern facility developed jointly by Powys Teaching Health Board and Powys County Council, working alongside the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations and other partners.

Plans for the hub include expanded NHS community dental services, local primary care clinics for people with long term conditions, and a new training centre aimed at developing careers in health and social care.

The building would also provide a new home for the Newtown Integrated Family Centre, the town’s public library and a new academic library to support students at the training centre.

Other services proposed for the hub include children’s health services, mental health teams for both adults and young people, and multi use rooms for wellbeing activities such as advice sessions, community groups and health related classes.

Chair of Powys Teaching Health Board Dr Carl Cooper said the approval was an important milestone for the project.

“Alongside planning permission, a vital next step is to develop our Full Business Case,” he said.

“We can then begin construction of a fantastic new facility for health and wellbeing services, which is also a stepping stone to a next phase which will see an expansion of diagnostic and treatment facilities reducing the need to travel to a District General Hospital.”

The health and wellbeing hub is intended to form the first phase of a wider long term plan for health services in the town.

A second phase could see services currently delivered at Montgomery County Infirmary relocated to the town centre site, alongside expanded diagnostic and treatment facilities aimed at reducing the need for residents to travel outside Powys for care.

The project is also linked to wider plans for the Y Parc campus, where Powys County Council is progressing proposals for a new building for Ysgol Calon y Dderwen.

Before any construction can begin, detailed designs will be developed and shared with the community. A further public consultation is expected before a planning application is submitted later this year.

If the project receives planning approval and Welsh Government support for the Full Business Case, the new hub could open to the public in 2028 or 2029.

More information about the North Powys Wellbeing programme is available at powyswellbeing.wales.