A new doctors surgery is set to improve access to health care for people in north Bradford.

Work is now underway on the £700,000 development in Rockwell Lane, Thorpe Edge, which will eventually house five doctors.

It is also hoped a pharmacy will move on to the site to provide a one-stop shop for the community's health needs.

The Newlands Partnership board bought the disused site as part of its regeneration strategy and teamed up with the NHS to improve access to care.

It is hoped the site will eventually include a community centre, a sports hall and a nursery and all revenue will be ploughed back into other community projects by the Newlands Community Association, which will take over the work of the partnership board in 2004.

Jim Smith, chief executive of the Newlands Partnership, said: "This is phase one of what will hopefully be a multi-phase development on Thorpe Edge.

"The land was bought by the Newlands Partnership two years ago and the Newlands Community Association has been acting as developer.

"So it is really the community acting as entrepreneur and this is something that Newlands people can be proud of."

Councillor Bob Sowman, chairman of the Newlands Partnership, said the new medical centre would be an enormous benefit to the area.

"It is a long-needed facility in the heart of the estate," he said.

"It will be easy to get to and will be a state-of-the-art, one- stop shop for health needs. It will be a well-used and highly-regarded provision."

Coun Sowman added the development complemented others in the north Bradford area which had been made possible by land being bought by the Newlands Partnership.

An 18-bed community hospital, surgery and pharmacy is being built on the site of the former Eccleshill Upper School. There is also room for the development of a diagnostic and treatment centre.

"Health care provision in north Bradford will be better than could ever have been anticipated a few years ago," said Coun Sowman.

Jonathan Coulter, finance director of North Bradford Primary Care Trust, said that doctors from a surgery in Albion Road had made a commitment to move into the new surgery in April and were looking forward to working in the premises.