POPLEY and Oakridge residents now have a brand-new one-stop medical centre.

The purpose-built Shakespeare House Health Centre, in Shakespeare Road, Popley, houses two doctors surgeries, the Marlowe Partnership and the Bermuda Practice, together with a dental surgery and pharmacy.

The centre was officially opened by two patients, one from each practice, who cut ribbons to mark the occasion.

Evelyn Green, 95, formerly a resident of Popley, but now living at Eddy Court, South Ham, is the eldest patient at Marlowe Partnership, while Lena Mills, 90, from Abbey Road, Popley, is one of the oldest patients from the Bermuda surgery.

Both ladies said is was a great honour to be chosen to open the centre.

Evelyn said: "I think the centre is wonderful - it's lovely and cool and airy."

Lena added that the building was an improvement on the one that housed her surgery previously.

"This one is out of this world," she said. "There are some very caring people here."

Dr Jane Jones, from the Marlowe practice, said the idea for the centre came out of a meeting in 1994 that discussed ways of improving health care in the area.

Sue Hunt, from the North Hampshire Primary Care Trust, said the centre had required the co-operation of many different organisations across the area.

"The end result of everybody working together is a new facility for the people of Popley and Oakridge, with more space and opportunities for doctors and nurses to provide better services for the population," she added.