A NEW multi-million pound treatment centre at Ipswich Hospital is moving closer today.Planning applications for the Garrett Anderson centre at Ipswich Hospital and a multi-storey car park at Pearson Road were formally submitted to Ipswich Borough Council this week.

A NEW multi-million pound treatment centre at Ipswich Hospital is moving closer today.

Planning applications for the Garrett Anderson centre at Ipswich Hospital and a multi-storey car park at Pearson Road were formally submitted to Ipswich Borough Council this week.

The £26m centre will contain a new A&E department, critical care unit, a day surgery suite and beds dedicated to planned, elective care.

The new building will be financed through the private sector and is the largest private finance initiative to take place in the NHS in Suffolk so far.

It will see the hospital renting the building from private sector company Prospect Healthcare, paying them a lump sum every year for 30 years.

In return Prospect will be responsible for maintaining the building.

The state-of-the-art facilities should help to ease pressures on the hospital's existing buildings, particularly areas like the Intensive Care Unit which is cramped and outdated at present.

Concerns have, however, been raised about the increase in traffic the centre may cause.

Residents on the nearby Australia estate have said they already have problems with people parking in the roads around their houses because there is not enough room at the hospital.

Initially it was thought that there would be an extra 300 spaces created in a new multi-storey car park but the planning application has been submitted for a 465 space car park.

The two-storey car park is planned for a site just off Pearson Road, where some staff already park their cars.

A spokesman for Ipswich Borough Council said they are aiming to have reached a decision on the application by June 17.

If all the plans are approved building work is due to begin by the end of the year.