Colchester's walk-in health centre is under threat again - less than two years after it was last saved.

Previous plans to move it further out of the town centre were shelved after objections from the public and a Gazette campaign.

But under new plans launched today by North East Essex Primary Care Trust the centre is once again facing relocation from the Octagon building in Middleborough to the Primary Care Centre in Turner Road.

It could form part of a new medical centre which will be open 365 days a year and includes the out-of-hours service.

An eight-week consultation has been launched asking residents for their views on the proposals.

At the end of March health bosses said they would wait until the new health centre planned for Turner Road was up and running before they would review services at the Middleborough centre. But this has now been over-ruled.

Barbara Williamson, of Colchester Pensioners' Action Group, said she was opposed to the closure of the Middleborough centre.

"I though the idea of a walk-in centre was for it to be convenient to get to?" She said.

"Turner Road is the most awkward place to get to by public transport, particularly at the weekend, and once you're there you might as well carry on to the hospital."

Users are being asked what they would like to see at the new centre.

Matt Bushell, director of strategic development and commissioning at the PCT, claimed the new centre will help to improve local services for people.

"The opening of this new health centre will, in our opinion, enable us to offer an improved walk-in service to that currently offered at Middleborough.

"It will be GP-led as opposed to nurse-led and will be located just down the road from the accident and emergency department at Colchester General Hospital, making transfer from one to the other easier for patients "In addition, the PCT now has the opportunity to rationalise its estate and vacate the Middleborough building in 2009, an opportunity which did not exist two years ago.

"We are also now able to offer a GP-led walk-in service, a significant advantage on two years ago when we were merely looking to relocate a nurse-led service."