A PROPOSED shake-up of health care in Penarth has moved forward with the Welsh Government announcing a new health centre for the area as part of a £68 million scheme.

Penarth AM Vaughan Gething announced this week that the new health and care centre in Cogan was one of the 19 new health and care centres being planned across Wales.

The centres aim to bring NHS and community services together under one roof.

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the Vale council have been in discussions about the new facility which could also see the services currently provided at Redlands and Station Road surgeries moved to a new building which would be built the former tennis courts at Penarth Leisure Centre.

In December 2016, the previous council administration gave "in principle" support to the idea.

The Vale council was first approached by the health board in July 2016 about the possibility of locating a new health and wellbeing facility on the Penarth Leisure Centre site.

The council was contacted again during October 2016 by the health board stating that Penarth Leisure Centre was their preferred location for a new health facility in the area and they were keen to begin a public consultation on the proposal.

Mr Gething said that the centre will bring "modern health and community services under one roof".

Mr Gething added that the planned Cogan facility is intended to improve access to a range of health and social care services closer to people’s homes.

He said: "This is great news for health services in Cogan.

"People rightly want and expect 21st century facilities and that is what the Welsh Labour Government are delivering for our community.

"This is a big investment in the health and wellbeing of this and future generations."

A spokeswoman for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: "The health board is in discussion internally and with external partner agencies to develop and agree the services that may be included in the development."

If an agreement is reached to build the health centre on the site, the proposal would then go through the standard planning procedure with public consultation.