DIGGERS are clearing the site of a former school so construction of a state-of-the-art health centre can get under way.

Work has begun to clear some of the more modern buildings at the closed Alfred Barrow School, on Duke Street, to make way for the planned new super surgery.

The move will pave the way for construction to begin later this year, with the £12m centre set to open its doors to patients by autumn 2017.

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Barrow's lead GP, Dr Geoff Jolliffe, said work on the site signalled the beginning of an exciting phase for healthcare in the town.

"Getting to this stage has taken a long time with a number of set backs.

"But there are exciting times ahead and this phase should certainly be more exciting for the public as things happen on site."

Clearance work on the site will remove newer additions built in the 1950s and 1960s.

The original listed building will then be made safe ahead of its development into a 5,000 sq metre modern health centre which will become home to three GP practices - Abbey Road Surgery, Atkinson Health Centre and Risedale Surgery - as well as a variety of community health services and a response base for the ambulance service.

There will also be room to allow the transfer of some acute services, traditionally found in hospitals, into the centre in the future as part of the area's Better Care Together plan.

Dr Jolliffe added: "We are on target with this project and we are looking forward to moving forward over the next year.

"It represents a real turning point for Barrow and its residents in terms of how they receive healthcare into the future."

The health centre will be constructed by E Lift Cumbria under a private finance initiative.

The firm has already completed several other projects around the county including in Cockermouth and Sedbergh.