A new centre housing a library, GP and dental surgery will be built in Enfield Lock, despite thousands being spent on refurbishing the current library last year.

The site of Ordnance Road Library in Hertford Road will be redeveloped by 2014 to create the joint service centre after years of complaints from patients that the existing Ordnance Road GP surgery was inadequate and lacked the capacity to meet demand.

The 40-year-old concrete library building, which went through a major refurbishment last year at huge cost, will be demolished to make way for the new centre.

There were fears last year that the library, of which only the ground floor is open to the public and is in need of extensive repairs, could close because of cuts in central Government funding.

A feasibility study into the idea of a joint centre concluded “that the current buildings on each site are unsuitable for renovation and adaptation for new uses, therefore a rebuild would be necessary”.

Enfield Lock has above average rates of diabetes, cancer, psychosis and depression, with only half of the population signed up to a GP. Improvements in primary care provision were promised by the Government before the accident and emergency department at Chase Farm Hospital closes in September next year.

Councillor Alev Cazimoglu who chairs council’s health scrutiny panel, said: “Residents experienced difficulty in getting appointments to see a doctor and other services and the panel felt that urgent action was needed.

“We worked closely with the health service to identify ways to bring about a solution.”

During the committee’s search for a new GP practice it found that Ordnance Road Library, Kettering Community Hall in Ordnance Road and the requirement for a dental surgery were also pressing needs, so all will be included in the new building.

The council told the Enfield Independent that if the library is demolished, the service will continue to be provided from temporary buildings on the site while the new centre is constructed.

The council will now launch a public consultation on the plans, before pressing ahead with finding a developer for the site.