Runcorn Shopping City could become the first shopping centre in the country to offer health services if a new hub opens later this year.

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust wants to open a new Health Hub at the centre which would offer audiology, ophthalmology and dietetics services.

A public consultation ran between May and June on the plans, with the results being presented at a recent meeting of Halton Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board.

The consultation received 254 responses and found that 51% of people supported the plans, 11% ‘somewhat supported’, 36% were opposed and 3% said they were unsure.

Concerns raised included whether there would be adequate privacy, whether it was the correct use of taxpayers’ money, the availability of public transport and whether the move would impact the future of Halton Hospital.

Giving the presentation, Lucy Gardner, Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Warrington and Halton teaching hospitals, said the plans would ‘absolutely not’ impact Halton Hospital’s future.

She called the consultation ‘broadly positive’ and said the trust would be able to address concerns raised.

She added that there had been some requests from the public about possibly offering maternity services at some future date, which she said the Trust would look in to.

She said the new hub could open sometime in October or November, adding: "We believe we’ll be the first hospital trust to offer health services in a shopping centre, which is putting Halton on the map for all the right reasons.”

The Health Hub would be a £350k partnership project between the Trust and Halton Council, with the money coming from a pot of £1 million secured in 2019 from the Liverpool City Region's town centre fund to regenerate Halton Lea.

Speaking at the meeting, David Parr, Chief Executive of Halton Borough Council, said: “We’ve talked a lot about bringing services closer to the community.

“It’s a real statement about what we want to do and about bringing services closer to Halton and a forerunner of what we want to do in the future. It’s something that the community seem to welcome.”