The two community health centres are together worth £19m and are being delivered through the NHS Express LIFT programme.

Sweett Group, which has a third stake in the an NHS Express LIFT, announced financial close this morning on the £12.5m community hospital in Cockermouth and a £6.5m health centre in Cleator Moor.

Robertson will immediately start building the new hospital in Cockermouth on land next to the current Cottage Hospital.

It will replace the existing hospital, which is more than 100 years old and was damaged in the floods which devastated the town in November 2009.

Work on the smaller health centre in Cleator Moor will start at the end of this month and will be completed by late spring 2013.

eLIFT Cumbria is a public-private partnership comprising Express LIFT Investments, NHS Cumbria, Community Health Partnerships and Cumbria County Council.

Ken Gill, Managing Director of Sweett Group’s PPP/PFI investments business, said: “This is a fantastic milestone, not only for eLIFT Cumbria and Sweett Group, but for the NHS Express LIFT programme as a whole.

“We are very proud to be working with local businesses and our partners to help to deliver healthcare services that meet the needs of the residents of West Cumbria.”