A Nailsea health centre is in line for a revamp to stop the spread of Covid-19 and other diseases.

Tower House Medical Centre is being reconfigured to create eight new consultation rooms, a one-way system and a climate-controlled archive for patients’ records.

The Stock Way South practice is part of the Tyntesfield Medical Group which serves a population of approximately 31,600 patients from Nailsea, Backwell, Long Ashton and the surrounding areas.

The plans said: “The proposed changes to the centre are a response to the fundamental shift in operational approaches to healthcare following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This includes the proposed permanent implementation of a one-way system through the centre to streamline circulation of patients going in and out and reduce unnecessary contact amongst patients and healthcare workers, in turn reducing the spread of diseases Covid-19 or otherwise around the building.”

The plans include a more welcoming glazed entrance and a landscaped sensory garden to help patients who find going to the doctors stressful.

Two parking spaces will be lost, leaving a dozen, although electric charging points will be added and space will be made for six bikes.

Approving the application, North Somerset Council planning officers said the new extension would compliment the contemporary appearance of the existing building and serve an important functional purpose.

They said the sensory garden would go some way in preserving the level of biodiversity once five low quality trees and a hedge are removed, adding that the public benefits of the project outweigh their loss.