A Leicestershire veterinary practice has unveiled exciting plans for a new £1m branch.
Ash Tree Vets is relocating from Smeeton Road in Kibworth to a larger site to provide more space and a wider range of services for its growing number of clients.
An industrial unit on the nearby Wistow Road, off the A6, is being transformed to create a modern and vibrant centre for Ash Tree Vets, which also has branches in Market Harborough and Desborough.
The new facility will be equipped with the latest technology and will include:
· four consulting rooms for vets and nurses
· a dedicated physiotherapy room
· the latest hi-tech X-ray and ultrasound equipment
· separate dog and cat wards to reduce feline anxiety
· a laboratory
· two operating theatres
· a dental suite
· parking
There will also be a dedicated bereavement room for end-of-life care where clients can spend time in a calm, quiet environment that will feel less clinical as their pets are put to sleep. The room will be set back from the reception area with its own separate exit.
Certain procedures currently only offered at the Market Harborough branch will also be available, sparing owners and pets unnecessary travel.
Ash Tree Vets expects to open the new branch in January 2023, and a recruitment drive is underway to build a larger clinical team of senior vets and veterinary nurses alongside new reception positions and clinical support roles.
Stella Coulson, clinical director at Ash Tree Vets, said: “We have wanted to do this for a long time. We are in an area that is growing with new housing developments. There has always been scope for increasing client numbers but there hasn’t been capacity to expand with our current site.
“This is a ten-year future-proofing business plan. It is really exciting. There is a lot of work to do, but it is going well and our partners, Medicare Construction Ltd, have been exceptional.
“We have one vet consulting room at the current Kibworth site. At our main site in Market Harborough, we have three consult rooms, and two at Desborough. This is a definite improvement and we’ll be able to see more clients to meet demand and spread the load.
“For clients, the investment means having a local service which is on their doorstep rather than having to come to Market Harborough for certain procedures, as well as getting an appointment to see a vet on a day they want.”
The £915,000 relocation project is being funded by VetPartners, a veterinary group which owns 148 of the UK’s most respected and trusted veterinary practices, including Ash Tree Vets.
Work is progressing well, including the installation of a mezzanine floor and new internal walls at the site, part of which was previously a publishing house.
Ash Tree Vets will continue to provide care at its current location in Smeeton Road, Kibworth, until the new centre opens.
