Plans to demolish and rebuild a vet surgery in South Woodford have been given the thumbs up by Redbridge Council.

The Woodford Road surgery, run by Goddard Veterinary Group, is in a "state of structural disrepair", according to the planning application.

It looks after around 2,000 pets, a Goddard spokesperson said, and has been at its current site at the corner with Bressey Grove since the 1960s.

The Recorder reported last month that Goddard had submitted the proposals, which also include knocking down an outbuilding containing storage space and building a new one.

At the time, Goddard operations director Mark Gill said: "Updating and upgrading our South Woodford premises to reflect modern advances in pet healthcare is essential to ensure we can continue offering high-quality services and to meet the demands of the ever-increasing number of pet owners in our local community.

"The existing single-storey building and layout does not allow this and to be able to invest in a brand new facility in the local area, so close to our roots, will underline our commitment to our wonderful staff and our clients.

"We expect to continue running our usual veterinary services on the site during construction with only minimal disruption.”

Goddard, which was founded in 1952, runs 44 branches and three animal hospitals across London.

The new surgery, to be located on the ground floor, is set to include dedicated cat and dog waiting areas, state-of-the-art scanning and blood testing equipment and new surgical and recovery facilities.

There is also set to be a three-bedroom flat above for vet staff, according to a design statement published on Redbridge Council's website by Dickson Architects on behalf of Goddard.

The area of the new surgery would be increased by 34 square metres, while the current five-car parking spaces are to be kept.

Dickson said: "The proposal has been designed to make the best use of space available and respond to the site’s orientation and constraints."

The company explained it had tried to create a new vet building with "much improved" facilities and provide a "more attractive building".

The application said work is set to begin in December and be completed in July 2022.