A dentist is planning to expand and knock through into the house next door to help provide more much-needed NHS dental services in Ipswich.

A planning application has been submitted to Ipswich Borough Council by Hiten Pabari of Foxhall Dental Practice for the expansion of the surgery.

The plans are for a change of use of the house next door, from a residential home into a dental practice.

According to the plans, the plans would create two new dental surgery rooms on the ground floor, a photo room, back office or storage room, and surgery, staff room, and staff kitchen upstairs, along with changes to the existing building.

The house next door is currently a two-storey late Victorian house, part of a row of terrace homes, with three bedrooms with a bathroom on the first floor, and living room and kitchen on the ground floor.

The practice has been seeking to expand since early last year, after seeing a 25% rise in patients over the previous two years.

According to the application, validated on November 30, there are more than 14,000 patients registered at the practice, which also provides urgent care for NHS and 111 patients.