A new animal hospital in Huddersfield has been given the go-ahead by Kirklees Council ... and will even have a ward for exotic species.

Donaldson’s Vets will build the new state-of-the-art veterinary hospital on Somerset Road in Almondbury complete with five operating theatres not far from its premises on Maple Street.

And it will be set up so it can treat ill exotic animals such as lizards, parrots, tortoises and even porcupines.

It will also create eight full-time and four part-time staff.

Work will start within the next couple of weeks and it is hoped the hospital will be open by this time next year.

Artist's impression of new Donaldson's veterinary hospital on Somerset Road in Almondbury

Donaldson’s has been on Maple Street since the 1950s and has expanded to now have six surgeries across Kirklees and Calderdale employing more than 100 staff. Partner Martin Paterson said: “Although each of our surgeries act largely as stand-alone centres during the day, the central hospital is essential for more specialised treatment and diagnostics, round-the-clock inpatient care and access to Donaldson’s 24 hour, 365 day a year emergency service.

“Over recent years, as the volume of work and complexity of the cases we manage has increased exponentially, we have outgrown the facilities at Maple Street.”

The new hospital will have parking, a large waiting room and reception area, six consulting rooms, spacious and comfortable accommodation for cats and dogs and even a ward dedicated to exotic species.

Martin added: “One of our vets recently visited a Koi carp in his pond and we may not have inpatient facilities for fish at the new hospital ... but we will have hospital facilities for almost everything else.”

Vet and director of Donaldson's Vets, Martin Paterson.

In addition to offices and accommodation for night staff, the new hospital will feature a suite of five operating theatres including high sterility theatres designed for advanced procedures.

Martin added: “We will have a dental suite specifically designed for advanced veterinary dentistry and a high dependency unit for the management of the most critically ill patients. One of the facilities we are most excited about will be the diagnostics suite which will include ultrasound and X-ray as well as a 64-slice CT scanner, one of only a very few veterinary CT scanners of this specification in the country.

“The hospital will deal with the long-neglected site on Somerset Road. Derelict for decades, the site had become dangerous and overgrown with fly-tipping and asbestos littering it. We will sympathetically breathe new life into the area.”

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