Medical centre plans for Levin's Durham St have been revived.
The section where a local GP was planning to build a modern medical centre some years ago was returned to Horowhenua District Council ownership this year when the ambitious plans failed to materialise.
But the land has now been sold to the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust, which aims to build the centre. It is expected to open in late 2023 or early 2024.
The trust has talked with the council, MidCentral District Health Board, Muaūpoko Tribal Authority and local health providers, to ensure the plan has support.
Trust chairman Antony Young said: "Our joint vision is to build a modern and multi-purpose health and wellbeing hub that meets the health needs of our community today while being fit for future growth."
Mayor Bernie Wanden said the clinic will fill a real need within the community. "Horowhenua residents have said they want localised, affordable healthcare that is flexible, responsive and adaptive to meet their needs.
"The decision by council to sell this land for the development of a modern health and wellbeing facility was a unanimous one."
The need for further investment in local healthcare has never been so pressing, he said.
Horowhenua is in a period of unprecedented growth. This growth, coupled with the fact that 24.7 per cent of the Horowhenua population is 65 years and over, and the deprivation challenges the district faces make healthcare in the district a primary focus.
"While we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, we look forward to working with community representatives to design and build a facility we can all be proud of," said the Horowhenua Company Limited CEO Catriona McKay.
"The community can expect to see a facility that provides for a range of their primary health care needs. Everyone understands the enormity of this project and its importance to our community."
Muaūpoko Tribal Authority CEO Di Rump also looked forward to working towards the clinic.
"We have a holistic view of health in Te Ao Māori. It is important to consider the physical alongside the mental, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing of people. We look forward to working together with partners, to deliver a facility that acknowledges and caters to those values and needs."
McKay said an advisory group will be set up in the next few weeks to provide input into the business case and expects decisions to go ahead with the development to be made by the end of March.
"We expect the build to take 18 months, so we could see a modern, fit for future health and wellbeing facility in Horowhenua by the end of 2023-early 2024," McKay said.
New Zealand's health system is about to be significantly restructured, which will means more local facilities and services will be provided in more communities, outside of hospitals, and communities will be encouraged to get involved in designing services that suit them.