An Aberdeenshire councillor has called for action on plans to replace a health centre which is “way past its sell-by date”.
There have been talks of a replacement to the Banchory Group Practice for years, with the current facility served by a number of portacabins.
Local councillor Jill Webster has now urged Aberdeenshire Council and NHS Grampian not to forget the need for improved health facilities in the Deeside town.
The Banchory and Mid Deeside councillor has claimed the current medical practice is too small for the town’s 13,000 population.
She also expressed concerns the temporary planning permission on the centre’s portacabins will run out in August.
Conservative Mrs Webster maintained she was fighting for progress now that the council and NHS Grampian have earmarked the project as a priority.
She said something was needed to address the “sizeable and increasingly elderly population” of Banchory.
The local authority’s local development plan has highlighted a piece of land in Silverbank, opposite Morrison’s store and currently used as a playing field, as a possible location for a new health centre.
Mrs Webster said: “It has been a long-held ambition, we definitely need a new health centre. The current temporary portacabins are not at all suitable for the services they have to provide.
“We have been wanting to do it for years. The one we have is far too small, we have got something like 12,000 or 13,000 people served by the local health centre.
“The portacabins have only got temporary planning permission until August. They are way past their sell-by date, and they are having to deal with leaks and all sorts of stuff.
“With the integration of health and social care, there is an opportunity here for a flagship project to integrate the two services.
“The council has got properties all over Banchory which we really need to look at. We are very keen to keep it in the centre of town.”
Early this week, Mrs Webster called for a replacement Banchory Health Centre to be included as a priority in the council’s Marr Community Plan for 2016-19.
An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said: “We will be in contact with Aberdeenshire Council regarding the temporary buildings to find a way forward while we pursue a solution.
“New health facilities in Banchory are a top priority and are included in the local development plan for health.”