BELHAVEN — A deal has been made to move forward with Vidant Health’s proposal of building a new multispecialty healthcare facility in Belhaven.

At Monday night’s Belhaven Town Council meeting, the Council approved a memorandum to move forward with plans for Vidant Health’s new $4.2 million, 12,000-square-foot multispecialty clinic, according to a Vidant press release. The Council voted to authorize immediate issuance of a zoning permit and to expedite review of construction applications and permits in accordance with law for construction of the facility, complete with helicopter access, to better meet patient needs in the Belhaven area.

“We are please that the Town Council has worked with Vidant to complete a Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement (MOUA) to move the project forward,” said Roger A. Robertson, chief corporate services officer. “The new facility will put all the family physician practices under one roof and be available for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the citizens of Belhaven and surrounding Hyde and Beaufort counties.”

Vidant originally purchased the 19.4-acre property between the post office and the Food Lion shopping center, south of U.S. Highway 264, in 2013 and since, has attended numerous Belhaven Town Council and Board of Adjustment meetings to reach a solution for building the facility on the property, according to Vidant Health officials. On Aug. 1, 2014, the Town approved the zoning permit for the facility, only to revoke it a month later due to a question of zoning laws. A public hearing in October, which saw the issue tabled due to a discrepancy on whether the hearing was to hear an appeal from Vidant or if the Board of Adjustments was to decide whether or not to issue the permit, followed the revocation.

The facility is proposed to supplement healthcare from the closing of Vidant Pungo Hospital on July 1 and will include all Vidant Medical Group physicians, staff and services under one roof. It will also have space available for specialists, who see patients in the community. The site plan also includes a new helipad in Belhaven for emergency transports to a higher level of care for patients when needed, according to Vidant Health.

Belhaven Mayor Adam O’Neal said the clinic will, essentially, be a doctor’s office, lacking a component of emergency care in the area, and will not replace the loss of the town’s hospital. The Town of Belhaven reissued the zoning permit after resolving the misinterpretation of the town’s zoning laws, O’Neal said.

“It’s an initial step for Vidant with their clinic,” O’Neal said. “I do want everybody to realize that they are combining three doctor’s offices into one. This doesn’t include emergency services. [The issuance] was a misinterpretation of the zoning map by the Board of Adjustments, and the new town attorney clarified, which resulted in the Council taking the action that it did.”

According to the release, Vidant will announce an informational session for local suppliers and contractors to make them aware of opportunities to participate in the construction of the facility. Throughout the zoning and permitting process, Vidant has remained steadfast in its commitment to build a new model of ambulatory care for the community and is pleased with the Town Council’s decision to allow construction of the state-of-the-art facility, bringing both jobs and improved healthcare to the region, the release said.

“We’ve been working closely with the Town of Belhaven to move this process along and are pleased with the resolution to the zoning and permitting process,” Robertson said. “Vidant is glad to be able to move forward with construction of the 24/7 facility, at no cost to taxpayers, benefitting Belhaven and the surrounding communities.”