Council officials hope for update on crucial NHS scheme in Doncaster city centre 'within a month'
A top Doncaster Council official has said he hopes to have an update on the ‘Health of the High Street’ initiative in a month’s time.
The project, announced before the elections in May, would bring NHS services to Waterdale in Doncaster city centre.
At a meeting of the overview and scrutiny management committee in the council chamber on June 26, 2025, Conservative councillor Steve Cox asked for an update on the scheme.
Dan Swaine, executive director for place at City of Doncaster Council, said: “We anticipate that we will be able to get that sorted quite quickly.”
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Mr Swaine told the committee he couldn’t share too many details about the ongoing negotiations and discussions surrounding the Health on the High Street project publicly.
However, he shared optimism there would be news soon.
“I anticipate that we will be able to get something sorted and provide an update within a month or so,” he said.
Health on the High Street would place services from the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (DBTH) and the Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Trust (RDaSH) in the heart of the city centre.
The trusts would set up clinics on separate floors of the vacant ‘The Village’ unit on Kingsgate in Waterdale.
Local business owners hope the scheme could drive more foot traffic to the area.
In a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in May 2025, Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said contracts for Health on the High Street were being “finalised”, despite reports it would not go ahead as planned.
The Mayor and her cabinet approved the Health on the High Street scheme in March 2025.
During that meeting, it was outlined how entering into a sub-lease of ‘The Village’ with NHS Trusts would give the council the option to take ownership of huge parts of Waterdale from Lazarus, the company that currently owns much of the site.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that Health on the High Street is crucial for the rest of the council’s Waterdale plan. Without it, the authority would not be able to take the land freehold.