RESIDENTS have been the first to view plans for new houses and a state-of-the-art health centre. More than 100 people attended an exhibition at Great Ashby Community Centre which showed the proposals for the Mastercare site at Wedgewood Way/Martins Way in

RESIDENTS have been the first to view plans for new houses and a state-of-the-art health centre.

More than 100 people attended an exhibition at Great Ashby Community Centre which showed the proposals for the Mastercare site at Wedgewood Way/Martins Way in Stevenage.

Plans have been submitted to Stevenage Borough Council for a residential development on the site, including a state-of-the-art healthcare facility for North Herts and Stevenage Primary Care Trust.

The enhanced primary care centre will provide space for outpatient clinics and for GPs, nurses and therapists to work together to deliver services not previously available in the community.

Mark Barker, chair of Great Ashby Community Group, said: "The announcement by the PCT for the proposals to provide a super surgery on the Dixons site is good news for the residents of Great Ashby and GACG will, in principle, support these proposals on the understanding that public transport to this facility will be improved to enable all Great Ashby residents to have access."

Outline planning permission, if granted, will trigger the next stage of the development and will ensure that health care provision is secured when the site is sold to a housing developer.

It is hoped that construction work could begin on redeveloping the site in late 2007 but this can only happen once the site has been purchased and full planning permission has been applied for and granted by the local authority.