Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal met the team behind Stroud's brand new £6.5 million medical centre this week.

The visit marked the official opening of the brand-new facility.

HRH Princess Anne was welcomed to the Five Valleys Medical Practice by the managing director of Dransfield Properties, Mark Dransfield. He gave her a tour of the new centre, which represents the latest phase of the company's major £25m regeneration project in Stroud.

As well as meeting doctors, nurses, therapists and other healthcare professionals, HRH Princess Anne met the team behind the ambitious development in the town and unveiled a special plaque to commemorate the official opening of the new medical centre.

Gloucestershire's Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust's capital commissioning officer, Joy Turk, and chief operating officer, Stuart Sedgwick-Taylor, talked about the big difference the new King Street facility is already making to patients.

The development has combined two established GP practices - Locking Hill Surgery and Stroud Valleys Family Practice - as well as delivering new physiotherapy and podiatry suites.

The medical centre has transformed a former rundown building with a new development which links with the transformation of the wider town centre as part of the Five Valleys Shopping Centre. The building will also house a new community library later in the year.

The town's VIP guest had a tour of the shopping centre to meet some of the award-winning artisan producers who have made the indoor food market a huge attraction in the town since opening two years ago.

The tour included a visit to Sandersons Boutique Department store, the family-run business which proudly champions local Gloucestershire brands, including Holland Cooper.

Mark Dransfield, managing director of Dransfield Properties and co-founder of Sandersons Boutique, said: "The Princess Royal's visit really was a very special moment for our company. It was a great honour to have the opportunity to show what can be achieved with imaginative town centre regeneration.

"This project has been a true partnership between the private and the public sector and what we have all managed to achieve by working together is a well-connected town centre with facilities which link with each other.

"It was a real honour for everyone who has been involved in this project - from the construction team to the staff in the shops and the doctors and nurses who are now delivering their services in the heart of the town centre."

Mary Hutton and Paul Roberts, chief executives of NHS Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, said: ''We are delighted to be part of this exciting development and for the local NHS to have made this significant financial investment. It gives healthcare in Stroud a major boost and creates closer working between a range of healthcare professionals and local GPs.

"It is wonderful to see the centre offering high quality care and a wider range of services to patients and service users in such a great environment, and to see local healthcare professionals benefitting too from these facilities.

"We would like to thank all of those involved in bringing this project to fruition, as well as The Princess Royal for visiting."