FUNDING for a town's forthcoming £6million medical centre has now been secured and building work will begin soon.

NHS West Essex, the district's Primary Care Trust, has announced it now has all the capital funding needed to create the Ongar War Memorial Medical Centre, on the site of the old hospital in Fyfield Road.

Building work is set to start this autumn, and once completed the new centre will house two doctor's surgeries, a dentist and a range of clinics.

PCT director of corporate services Leigh Fleming said: “This is great news and means the new medical centre that is so desperately needed in Ongar has come another step closer.

“We remain on schedule to have the new centre open by Christmas 2011.”

The PCT is waiting to receive tender bids from five companies and it is anticipated the contract to build the medical centre will be awarded in August.

Ms Fleming said: “These are exciting times for healthcare in Ongar and the surrounding villages.

“The medical centre will be a landmark building from which a wide range of health services, some not currently provided in Ongar, will be available.”

NHS West Essex is holding an open day at the Budworth Hall, in Ongar High Street, between 9am and 1pm on Saturday, July 17, where visitors will be able to experience a virtual walk through of the new medical centre.

They will also be able to view old photographs of the hospital, follow a timeline of key events in its history and recall their memories of the hospital for a publication to be produced to coincide with the opening of the new medical centre.