A £16 million animal hospital forced to close after a major fire has now revealed a new opening date after repairs were previously hit by delays.

Southfields Veterinary Specialists, in Gardiners Lane South, Basildon, was forced to close after a fire broke out in a neighbouring building on 18th April.

The fire led to emergency services evacuating the building and pets being transferred to nearby vets for continued treatment.

Although Southfields itself did not catch fire, the Linnaeus-owned facility suffered extensive damage.

Initially, bosses announced the vets would reopen just two weeks after the fire, but there were more repairs needed than first anticipated.

It was later announced it would open in mid-July, however, the animal hospital was hit by further delays with repairs.

However, bosses at Southfields Veterinary Hospital has today provided an update, confirming it will finally reopen in September.

Daniel Hogan, hospital director at Southfields Veterinary Specialists in Basildon, said: “We are making steady progress with the renovations to Southfields Veterinary Specialists, thanks to the hard work of our team and contractors. Many areas of the hospital are already much improved.

“We want to reopen the hospital as quickly as possible but the safety of our team, patients and clients comes first, so we expect to open our doors in September 2024.

“In the meantime, our clinical teams are busy looking after pets at other nearby sites such as Cherrydown Vets in Basildon. We continue to be very grateful to our clients and the local veterinary community for their support and patience, and look forward to returning to the Southfields hospital building soon.”