Work on the new main entrance and retail area at Ipswich Hospital will get underway from next month.

From early July, the south reception entrance on the main site will be closed, along with the area outside the shops.

People will still be able to enter and access the south zone of the hospital using an entrance close to the bike racks, which will take everybody into the south ward corridor.

The south reception helpdesk will stay open and can be easily accessed from the south ward corridor.

The way into the Emergency Department, Trauma and Orthopaedics and all other areas of the hospital remains unchanged.

A spacious and welcoming main entrance will be created in this space which will be close to most of the hospital's wards and a selection of shops coming to the hospital will be announced soon.

The new entrance and retail area is part of the wider multi-million pound expansion plans, which were first given the green light back in 2019.

The £52 million investment will see £23.2 million spent on the new main entrance and retail area, urgent treatment centre and emergency department set to open in 2023 and a surgical assessment unit which will also open later this year.

The hospital will also be spending £6.9 million on a new children's department which should be open in 2023, £5.3 million on a state of the art breast cancer care centre which is set to open next year, £5.3 million on a pathology molecular lab and £3.2 million on additional MRI and CT scanners.

When the application was first submitted it was welcomed by Ipswich Borough Council but there were some serious concerns over parking, pedestrian routes and access by decision makers.

The planning committee agreed to the plans with an advisory note that the hospital should reassess the concerns, which the hospital said it would take into consideration and deal with.

Bus stops will not be affected, but the bike racks will be closed with bicycle users being asked to use racks elsewhere on the site.

Some drop-off spaces and electric charging points for vehicles will also be out-of-action while the works take place.

Also this week, three rows of visitor car parking will be out of action for a number of weeks in Car Park G to make way for the state of the art new breast care centre for patients.