A PREVIEW of Yate's future community health and children's centre has been greeted with a mixed response from the town.

More than 650 people visited an exhibition on plans for the facility at Yate Shopping Centre last week.

Visitors were told the centre will replace Yate's existing health centre and offer more medical services, saving a predicted 34,000 people having to travel to Southmead or Frenchay hospitals a year.

They were shown architect designs of the three-storey building and given a chance to comment.

The facility is set to open in the town's shopping centre in spring 2009 as part of the Bristol Health Services Plan (BHSP) to localise and improve health services in South Gloucestershire.

Tony McLean, of Chipping Sodbury, said: "By the looks of things it will be a modern equipped health centre, which is just what we need here.

"The fact that the centre will offer a lot of services and mean people may not have to travel all the way to Southmead Hospital is a big bonus.

"I have had to go there myself for treatment and it sure is a long and difficult route. For anyone with a problem which can be treated at the new centre it will be a real benefit."

But the wife of a disabled man in Yate, who did not want to be named, said the facility would be a step backwards.

She said: "The centre is a lousy replacement for the services lost when Frenchay is downgraded.

"My husband travels to Frenchay Hospital regularly and will be stuck when it is downgraded. Yate Health Centre will not offer the eye surgery he needs and Southmead Hospital is too far away.

"I am far from happy with the situation."

Yate Town Cllr Chris Willmore said: "The results at the exhibition were very pleasing and were met with a good response. It seems the services plan is delivering its promise.

"The centre will reduce the number of people who get sent to hospital and that can only be a good thing."

South Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust chief executive Penny Harris added: "Local people are really keen that Yate should have this centre which will mean that many people can have x-rays, other diagnostic tests, outpatient appointments and treatment in Yate and will no longer have to go to a major hospital.

"They were very interested in South Gloucestershire Council's plans for a children's and young people's centre within the development.

"We received some interesting comments on developing other services and some suggestions on how we can improve the design, which we will be looking at."