The business case will now be submitted to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to unlock £3.1m funding for the project.

The Health and Wellbeing Hub will provide a collaborative space shared by health and wellbeing partners including Bridgewater Community Healthcare, Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust, the council, Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and various organisations from the voluntary and charity sector.

The overall aim of the Hub is for it to be a place that ultimately improves the health and wellbeing of children, families and older people, including those living with frailty conditions. This will be done by identifying potential problems earlier, helping to prevent ill health and avoiding the need for crisis management. For example, services aimed at those living with frailty will work to provide early identification of dementia, with support to keep people living healthy and independent lives for longer. Likewise, services for families and children will aim to reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes for those living in the most deprived areas of the borough, aiming to give children the best possible start in life.

Alongside this, the key impacts of the Hub will include:

• Reduced future demand for emergency admissions to hospital
• Reduced time spent in hospital, for those requiring an admission in future
• Reduced future demand for nursing and residential care and social care
• Reduced future costs to the health and care system of managing the wider impact of troubled families

Professor Simon Constable, Chief Executive of Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals said: “This is tremendous news, for the town, for our patients and their families, and for our many partners who will together be able to provide timely and appropriate care and support right in the heart of the community.

“The new health and wellbeing hub will enable our clinical teams to support patients earlier, in a centre that is closer to their homes and more convenient to access. It is proven that earlier interventions, by the right care professionals in the right place prevent or reduce hospitalisations, many of which lead to long lengths of stay.

“By creating the space for health and social care partners, augmented by our excellent voluntary sector, to form a team around the patient at a ‘one-stop-shop’ we know we will achieve better experiences, better outcomes and ultimately better use of resources.”

Cabinet member for statutory health and adult social care, Cllr Paul Warburton, said: “The Hub will be an excellent partnership facility that will aim to provide support to people, including older people and those living with frailty conditions, to keep them as independent and healthy as possible.

“It will help to keep people living well in their own homes and out of hospital wherever possible, and will be in a great location for people by being based in the heart of the town centre.

Cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, Cllr Maureen McLaughlin, said: “Having our health and wellbeing services all under one roof at the Health and Wellbeing Hub means that we will be able to provide children, families and our older residents with timely support, advice and preventative action.

“The model of the Hub also means that our community and voluntary services can work hand-in-hand with health and clinical partners, meaning that support available in people’s communities and networks can be leveraged to keep people healthy, happy and independent in their own homes wherever possible. I look forward to seeing the Hub continue to develop.”

To find out more about the Warrington Town Deal, visit warrington.gov.uk/my-town