The former Andover Health Centre has now been totally demolished as part of work to transfer it to a new, purpose-built home.

The former home of the building in Chapel End has now been razed to the ground following the competition of demolition work by teams. Work on placing foundations for the new wing of Andover War Memorial Hospital can now take place, and will be where the health centre is eventually placed.

In the meantime, the health centre continues to operate from its current premises, and will relocate to the new wing once it is complete.

The Chief Executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Alex Whitfield, said: “This is such an exciting time for this project as we can see the investment in the War Memorial Hospital growing day by day. It is an important part of our ongoing commitment to the hospital and to the people of Andover, and we are looking forward to seeing how this work progresses over the coming months.”

The new home of Andover Health Centre Medical Practice (AHCMP) GP surgery is a result of a partnership between Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and NHS West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group (now part of the newly created Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG since their merger on 1 April), and will replace the existing building.

The new site has been redesigned following lessons learned during the Covid pandemic, including additional space and improved ventilation. A new car park will also be built, with work partially completed.

Rachael King, Director of Commissioning, Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG, said, “It is fantastic to see the project progressing so well – with work taking place to create the new facility we all want to see. We would also like to say thank you to local residents, and apologise for any inconvenience which may have been caused due to the building work.”

The building work is due to be completed in February 2022.