A £1m medical centre was opened on Saturday.

The two-storey building in Colburn, near Richmond, was opened by local district councillor Lynn Miller.

The centre, overlooking Catterick Road, was built by Randall Orchard, on behalf of Trinity Medical Properties - specialists in the field, based in Tyne and Wear, to replace facilities at The Broadway.

Planning permission for the centre was granted in 2000 by Richmondshire District Council even though the land was earmarked for industry.

It was felt the district's health care needs came first - a view supported by more than 500 people who signed a petition urging planners to give the scheme the all clear.

The new centre includes a small theatre for simple operations, as well as a recovery room. There are four modern offices for GPs, a treatment room, a carer's room, a physiotherapy department and a massage and therapy centre.

Offices are also included for a dietician, counsellor, health visitor and district nurse.

There is also a visiting consultant's office, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to Northallerton and Cleveland for relatively short appointments.

Trinity spokesman Chris Morton-Firth said: "It will make a huge difference to the doctors who have had to work in cramped conditions. These are much more spacious, airy, modern and light rooms, with enough space to allow the practice to extend the range of services offered to people from the area,"

The scheme, which also has the support of the Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Group and the North Yorkshire Health Authority, includes a pedestrian crossing over Catterick Road, trees screening the centre from nearby houses and a new access off Catterick Road.