A £10 MILLION health centre will not open until Spring 2012 after being hit by delays.

The Biddulph Primary Care Centre had been due to open by late 2011. But engineering works delayed the submission of the planning application by two months.

Now, NHS North Staffordshire has revised its building timetable as it waits for the plans to be approved.

The new building, in Wharf Road, will include three GP practices, as well as a treatment room for minor surgery, a community room and a meeting room.

It will also cater for a number of outpatient appointments that will be transferred from the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

Project manager Maureen Turfrey said: "The engineering requirements for the building have taken longer than anticipated, due to the complexity of the building.

"This has delayed the submission of the planning application by approximately two months.

"It is anticipated that a building contractor will not be appointed until the autumn."