ST. MODWEN SECURES £10M MEDICAL CENTRE FOR COLNE, EAST LANCASHIRE

St. Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, has exchanged contracts with NHS East Lancashire for the purchase of the 1.3 acre former Kwik Save Supermarket on Craddock Street, Colne to build a £10 million, state-of-the-art medical centre.

NHS East Lancashire will now apply for planning permission, before the end of this year, to build the 5,000 sq ft new facility. Once submitted, a series of public meetings will take place in the New Year where local residents can see the proposals for the site and discuss the plans in more detail.

Should planning permission be approved, building works are expected to start on site during 2009 and the new facility open by early 2011.

Richard Bakes, Development Manager, St. Modwen says:

“Before we started talks with NHS East Lancashire, we had spoken to many different interested parties who wanted to purchase the site however their proposals did not offer the broader community or regenerative benefits to Colne as a whole.

“This frustrating process has finally come to fruition in the form of the new medical centre, which on completion, will provide a much-needed facility for Colne but also local community and local businesses as it will also help to attract more people into the town centre and should trigger the wider regeneration of the town centre.”

“This is excellent news for the town and Pendle Borough Council and we will now work hard, with the Council and NHS, to secure an early planning permission to ensure that we complete the sale to the NHS and ultimately deliver this important facility.”

The new facility is part of NHS East Lancashire’s plans to bring more primary health services closer to people’s homes. The medical centre will include GP practices as well as services currently provided at Burnley, Blackburn or Airedale. In particular, the new development will have the ability to bring in mobile surgery units to bring diagnostic and minor operation facilities into the community.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

St. Modwen Properties plc

St. Modwen is the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, operating across the full spectrum of the property industry through a network of seven regional offices and a Birmingham based head office. The company is wholly focussed upon regeneration with expertise in town centre regeneration, partnering industry, brownfield land renewal and heritage restoration.

For further information, please contact:

Charlotte McCarthy

PR Manager

St. Modwen Properties PLC

T: 0121 222 9400

E: cmccarthy@stmodwen.co.uk