MP blasts councillors for 'jumping the gun' over super health centre bid

AN MP has blamed councillors for raising “false hopes” over a major NHS centre that has now been deemed financially unviable.

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

Michelle Welsh, Labour MP for Sherwood Forest, says the idea that the Hucknall super health centre could have been based in a former sixth form building was “made up” and claims that local councillors “jumped the gun”.

Ashfield Independents, who run Ashfield District Council and announced the NHS deal in April, previously blamed the health service for the project being abandoned.

The local integrated care board (ICB) simply says the scheme was not “financially viable”.

Ashfield District Council previously claimed it was in “advanced talks” with the NHS about turning Hucknall Sixth Form Centre on Portland Road into a super health centre. The authority now says that it actually never had a reply from the NHS.

The council claimed when announcing the deal in early April that it expected to buy the building within a week, but the site has now gone on the market for £1.5 million.