GP services for 4,000 new homes not running yet

Plans to open new GP services at a medical centre built to support thousands of new homes are facing delays.

The Magna Medical Centre in Rackheath, near Norwich, opened earlier this year but, while some services are operational, the GP practice is yet to receive patients.

Hoveton & Wroxham Medical Practice was due to run services there from early 2026 but negotiations remain ongoing with NHS Property Services.

Work is also continuing to install services including telephone lines at the site, which will be able to serve up to 10,000 patients.

The medical centre has been built to serve the growing community of Rackheath, where 4,000 homes are due to be constructed.

The development will significantly boost the village's population, which was about 2,100 in the most recent census.

It forms part of the Greater Norwich Local Plan, which sets out provision for up to 45,000 homes to be built across the wider area over the next 15 years.

Building work started in 2024 and, at the time, local councillors said the facility was "desperately needed".

A spokesperson for NHS Property Services said: "The building is now open and operational, with the community trust working from there successfully since its handover.

"We are currently in the process of agreeing terms of the licence agreement with the GP practice and understand that they are also finalising installation of services, including telephone lines."

The spokesperson said the building would provide "accessible, high quality facilities".

Fran Whymark, Broadland district councillor for Rackheath, said securing the new services had been hard fought and people were asking him why the practice was still not ready.

He said: "Lots of people have contacted me asking what is going on.

"Agreeing the licence should have been fairly straightforward but unfortunately it is still not open."

The medical centre, which cost £11m, will house primary care and community services, along with facilities such as treatment rooms and district nursing services.

Funding for the project was announced in 2023 as part of a programme to build two new health centres in Norfolk.

The other, in Nar Ouse Way, King's Lynn, is also now operational, but councillors there say a GP practice promised as part of the scheme has not materialised.

King's Lynn Primary Care Network, which operates from the hub, said it was "surprised" to hear the concerns as there had been no plans to put GPs in the hub.

Whymark said it was a "huge relief" that the Rackheath medical centre was completed after overcoming various challenges.

They included the possibility that funding was going to be pulled due to missed deadlines caused by planning issues.

"This was not an easy ride and we nearly lost all of it," he added.

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