THE trust which runs Colchester’s hospitals will invest £1.1million to help transfer services from Essex County Hospital to Colchester General Hospital.

The cash will be spent on extending the main outpatients department at the Turner Road hospital in preparation for the dermatology and plastic surgery specialties being moved.

Services at the Lexden Road hospital site are due to be transferred in July 2015.

The trust has also agreed to lease the x-ray suite on the ground floor of the Colchester Primary Care Centre, near to Colchester General Hospital as well as investing £516,000 in redeveloping 66 High Street, Colchester, for its Contraceptive and Sexual Health Services.

The trust has been developing the plans since it announced the move in April.

Some services will be relocated into the community.

Nick Chatten, project director, said: “We have made good and rapid progress since April and are aiming to have relocated all of the services by July 2015.

“We’re continuing to work closely with our clinical teams and all of the staff at Essex County Hospital on what is a very complex and detailed project.

“We’re still investigating possible new locations for some of the services currently provided on the Lexden Road site but our announcement today shows we have made significant progress.”

No decision has been made on where the chronic pain service will be moved to, but it does not need to be located at a hospital.

Some 245 new parking spaces will also be created at Colchester General Hospital.

A planning application will be submitted to Colchester Council.

The Lexden Road site will be marketed from October.