A DEAL to allow Wivenhoe’s GPs to move into a long-awaited new home has been agreed in principle.

For more than a decade, the Wivenhoe Surgery has been seeking a replacement for its cramped and outdated premises at The Avenue.

Now, after several false dawns, GPs are set to move into the Phillip Road centre, a former children’s support services centre and community base emptied by Essex County Council last year.

The decision has raised hopes community groups, including the Hub youth club, the Moving Image film club and the Colne Bank School of Dancing, who were all turfed out last July by County Hall, could return.