A state of the art new healthcare facility will be built in Newtown after a £2.5 million government funding boost for healthcare in North Powys.

The Welsh Government says the new facility will transform healthcare in the area, and will be used to help health and social services deliver care closer to people’s homes as part of a pilot scheme which could then be rolled-out across the whole of Wales.

According to healthcare bosses, the clinic will be based at the heart of Newtown, and will bring "the latest technology and training to mid Wales."

Health secretary Vaughan Gething says the programme will be the "largest ever intergenerational health and wellbeing programme in Powys", providing an opportunity for local communities to work together with health, social care, education, housing, leisure, the third sector and wider partners.

"I am pleased to announce the North Powys project will be the latest to be backed by the Welsh Governments’ Transformation Fund. Our health and social care services are set to face greater and more complex demand in the future as our population ages. We need to develop radical new ways to deliver our health and social services if we are to meet the demand in the future," he said.

"This will require new ways of working and bringing different services together to deliver services closer to home and reduce pressure on hospitals. Our long-term plan for health and social services, A Healthier Wales details how we can achieve this.

"Our £100m Transformation Fund will help us realise that vision by funding innovative projects that have potential to scale up and be used across Wales."

Montgomeryshire AM Russell George described the move as a "golden opportunity" for the town and the surrounding area.

"This is a fantastic opportunity which will allow for additional health and hospital services to be based in Newtown. "The funding announcement is an initial sum, and further funding will have to come forward as the project and new facility moves ahead," he said.

"The fact that this funding and project is now a reality is good news, but I would also urge caution, as planning and the new build that will take place will take some years, and in the meantime we have to ensure that current GP and hospital services are supported and strengthened."

Cllr Rosemarie Harris, Leader of Powys County Council, described the project as a "truly once in a generation opportunity" to improve health and wellbeing across north Powys.

"Together our council and health board are already leading the way in Wales as the first region with a joint health and care strategy agreed in 2018, built on the issues that the people of Powys said were important to them," she said.

"This funding from Welsh Government will help us to ensure that we are taking practical steps to turn this into reality."