Gunnedah and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s president Stacey Cooke said she was glad to see progress.

“I think it's brilliant that something's happening with it and it's not just sitting there being a waste of valuable resources that are desperately needed for our town,” she said.

“It's great to see that Mackellar Care has been successful in taking over the lease and I think it's nothing but good news.”

Mrs Cooke said Gunnedah was an “awesome place” and she hoped doctors could be encouraged to settle in the area.

“If we could get a couple of good doctors, we should be encourage student doctors to come up here,” she said.

“If they fall in love with the place, they might come back.”

Gunnedah Shire Council’s general manager, Eric Groth, said the council welcomed the Mackellar Rural Health Centre.

“Council think it's fantastic that it has been signed-off and recognise the work that Kevin Anderson and Mark Coulton have done to assist in that process and we look forward to Mackellar being able to provide medical and allied health services to the community of Gunnedah,” she said.

“From a community perspective, it's fantastic. I really look forward to people being able to get into doctors more easily.”

In a letter to the Namoi Valley Independent on November 16, former chair of the Gunnedah Rural Health Clinic, Rob Hooke, said he wanted to congratulate Mackellar Care Services on the acquisition of the Gunnedah Rural Health Centre.

Mr Hooke said he wanted to thank the former board for their “dedication” and nursing and office staff who went “beyond the call of duty during a very difficult last few months”.

Mackellar Care Services acquired the Gunnedah Rural Health Centre on November 10 and is working to recruit doctors so it can open the doors to offer services. The health centre originally closed its doors on July 12.