A Norfolk village is set to get a 'modern' new doctors' surgery and dementia clinic after councillors approved plans to develop part of a field into a building for a GP practice.

Proposals for the Burnham Market surgery, with an on-site dementia suite and car park, were set to be approved at King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council's planning committee on Monday, November 4.

And plans will now go ahead after councillors unanimously granted planning permission to the 0.44 hectare site at Creake Road and Joan Shorts Lane.

A report published on the council's website stated that the applicant, Burnham Surgery, had been looking to relocate to a new practice for more than 10 years.

And the proposal was based on an NHS assessment of the best available location for the surgery.

It continued: "This application is the culmination of a long search for a suitable site and a comprehensive approvals process undertaken by the NHS.

"The existing building does not provide sufficient space of the quality or layout to meet the needs of modern healthcare including infection control requirements and minimum room sizes.

"The new surgery will provide a much larger building built to modern NHS standards."

But speaking after the meeting, Chris Crofts, chairman of the planning committee, said: "There was some opinion that the design might have included a little more local stonework."

He added: "This was discussed but [the plans] went through."

The new surgery is set to be designed with space to expand, and will be the only local surgery with a dedicated dementia clinic.

The building will also be owned by a charitable organisation who will lease the centre to the practice, and redistribute income to "benefit patients" and "safeguard the use of the building for many generations to come".

The report also outlined objections to the scheme, which included worries over a loss of parking, the risk of congestion due to extra traffic through the village, and the potential for light pollution - with one respondent describing the design for the surgery as "uninspiring."

However, 54 comments were received in support of the application, which described it as "urgent" and "innovative".

And one comment stated: "It is essential that this excellent project goes ahead without delay."