ANOTHER £1.5 million could be spent turning part of a new health centre into office space because the NHS services it was originally intended for can’t afford the rent.

As previously reported, the Altrincham Health and Wellbeing Centre ­— planned as a cutting-edge new health hub for south Trafford ­— cost £24 million to build, before health chiefs then discovered local GP practices and other services were unwilling to move in.

Tenants such as St John’s Medical Centre, Greater Manchester Health NHS Trust, Pennine Community Services and Barrington medical centre had been lined up to take up tenancies last autumn, while there would also have been a minor surgery suite and a heart failure clinic. But concerns over the cost of rent meant that those NHS services never moved in ­— and to date the only organisation currently operating in the hub is a library.

In the meantime, the NHS still has had to pay around £2.35 million running costs a year, even though not a single patient has so far used the centre.

Now Trafford’s clinical commissioning group is recommending another £1.5 million is spent converting the third floor into commercial office space in order to offset that recurrent bill.

Some GP and other health services would then occupy the ground, first and second floors under the plan, on the proviso that their rent would be no higher than at present, although as yet not all of those tenants have been identified.

Trafford CCG does not know where the money for the office conversion will come from, however.

An independent review into the whole saga has been launched to uncover what went wrong and it is due to be published "imminently".

In the meantime, a report due to be discussed by the governing body of the TCCG today details some of the failures so far.

It says: “The 2015 business case stated that the CCG had a comprehensive commissioning plan that would reduce hospital activity as part of its strategic plan.

“The building also offered a unique opportunity to fully embrace the care strategy for Trafford ­— and become a pioneer/exemplar health organisation.

“However, what has become evident is that whilst the document advised that there was a fully worked up commissioning plan, this was not the case.”

The document also states that the health organisations originally set to move into the facility no longer want to ­— and, as a result, no tenancy agreements had been signed.

As a result the original business case is "now longer valid".

“Therefore, it is not financially viable to proceed with the occupation of the health hub as originally intended,” the report adds.

A recommendation tabled by health bosses to convert the third floor of the property into commercial office space ­—  at a cost of £1.5 million ­— will therefore be considered.

Demand exists for such space, says the report, noting "it is highly likely that there is a buoyant market for grade A office accommodation of this nature in Altrincham".

It is unclear how the CCG would pay to convert the space, however.

“At the time of writing this paper no funding source for these costs has been identified,” it adds.

The CCG’s plan would also see the St John’s and Barrington Road practices occupy the first floor of the building, while health chiefs are trying "to exhaust all opportunities with a view to securing tenants on both the ground floor and the second floor", including looking beyond Trafford to other parts of Greater Manchester.

Other options outlined in the report include leaving the building entirely empty, but that would leave the NHS paying running costs for no gain whatsoever.