Fast progress is being made on a new doctors' surgery in the city outskirts which could take up to 10,000 patients once completed next year. 

The Rackheath Medical Centre is set to open in July 2025 and the shell of the building is already in place, less than four months after work began.

Made up of 45 modules which have been arranged to create a whopping 16,000 feet of internal floor space, the health hub is now watertight and awaiting electrics.

Plans have also emerged for a pharmacy, dental surgery and opticians in the land behind the building as the site in Rackheath looks set to become a 'care hub'.

Cllrs Fran Whymark (left) and Martin Murrell (right) point to the progressing medical hubCllrs Fran Whymark (left) and Martin Murrell (right) point to the progressing medical hub (Image: Emily Goodwin) Martin Murrell, Conservative district councillor for the Wroxham ward, which includes the parish of Rackheath, has been campaigning for the medical hub for many years alongside fellow councillor Fran Whymark.

He said: "We are overjoyed that this is progressing so well and that the medical centre could be joined by other services.

"For the residents of Rackheath and the surrounding area, this is just huge. 

"There aren't too many other instances where you'll find the infrastructure going in before the housing."

The building work started in August - and the shell of the building is nearly completeThe building work started in August - and the shell of the building is nearly complete (Image: Emily Goodwin) Once fully operational the medical centre could have up to 10,000 patients on its books, but it will initially open to just a couple of thousand.

It will be able to cater to those living in Rackheath and the surrounding areas, including the 130-home estate being built in the land behind the building.

Cllr Murrell explained: "It will grow slowly, as we haven't got sufficient doctors to open it at full capacity from the start."

A visualisation shows how the building will look when finishedA visualisation shows how the building will look when finished (Image: Darwin Group) Fran Whymark, Wroxham ward councillor alongside Cllr Murrell, added: "We've been working so hard over so many years to get this off the ground.

READ MORE: Dental surgery with 6,000 NHS patient places planned for city outskirts

"To get it all delivered now is phenomenal. There will be a temporary pharmacy in the medical centre before the new care hub.

"This is why you get involved in politics. This is our community, we live here and will be using these facilities when they are completed. It is fantastic."