East Lancashire health centres to be renovated and reconfigured in 2026

Three health centres in East Lancashire are benefiting from major investment projects during 2026. 

Funding from the Department of Health and Social Care, totalling around £8 million, is being utilised to improve and refurbish Barbara Castle Way Health Centre in Blackburn, St Peter’s Centre in Burnley, and Acorn Primary Health Care Centre in Accrington.

The investment supports the ambitions of the Government’s 10-year Plan for the NHS, to create health centres that provide more services to meet the needs of their local communities.

Barbara Castle Way Health Centre

Blackburn with Darwen was confirmed earlier in autumn as being among the first wave of areas to be included in the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme. The work under this programme, set to be completed in Autumn 2026, will see Barbara Castle Way Health Centre redesigned to maximise vacant and underutilised areas.

The Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) Mental Health Acute Therapies team will relocate into a newly-designed space on the ground floor, and the Talking Therapies team will occupy a newly-created ‘Mental Health Hub’ space in the vacant pharmacy space.

Third sector organisations will also have bookable space in the currently underutilised large waiting area, with pods provided.

LPC (Local Primary Care) are going to be located in the building, on the first floor, where they will be able to work closer with the mental health and voluntary sectors.

As well as this, there will be a redesign of reception, realignment of services available on the first floor, and X-Ray and ultrasound also available on site.

St Peter’s Centre

Similar plans to repurpose underused space at the St Peter’s Centre in Burnley is currently underway and will completely redevelop the building.

Floors and services will be rearranged improving their connectivity and a new reception area will also be created.

On the ground floor, additional bookable clinical spaces for Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) will be created and LSCFT’s Talking Therapies services will relocate from their current site into a new redeveloped area.

Burnley East Network Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) services are also set to relocate from two separate sites and will take space on the fourth floor supporting greater work and service integration.

Administrative and clinical spaces for additional services and providers is also being created on the seventh and ninth floors and there will also be improvements to the IT infrastructure on the ground and fourth floors.

The project is due to complete at the end of March 2026.

Acorn Primary Health Care Centre

Following the emergency closure of Accrington Victoria Hospital, there is an opportunity to improve and increase utilisation of the Acorn site.

The main entrance/atrium area on the upper ground floor will be reconfigured to accommodate a range of hospital services enabling greater integration with the current primary care services.

The funding will go towards the establishment of a ‘Health Hub’ which will include two new X-Ray rooms, a six-bay Minor Injuries Unit, a triage and plaster room, new reception and waiting areas, additional primary care rooms and more clinical spaces.

The project has already enabled two further GP practices to relocate into the Acorns building bringing the total number of GP practices operating from this site to four.

This phased reconfiguration and transfer is expected to be completed in 20 weeks.

The ICB’s chief executive, Aaron Cummins, said: “The central funding we are receiving for these three projects is very welcome, and will be essential in bringing the health centres up to date to meet the ambitions for the NHS set out in the 10-year plan.

“I was recently shown around the three health centres and I am confident that this work will allow us to better integrate and closely align services at each site, and by relocating services from elsewhere it will bring significant savings in costs at other sites.

“We believe that each one of these refurbishments and redesigns will make services more accessible for patients and better meet the needs of our local population.”