Planning permission for the new Primary Care Development in Leigh Park has been granted for the second time, and now work on site is expected to start this month.
Planning permission for the £5million development was originally granted last November. However, plans were held up because of a last minute objection by a local councillor regarding the redirection of a footpath across the proposed site. In order to avoid lengthy delays, Westbury Group Practice submitted a new planning application, moving the building back on the original site by around 19 metres.
Planning permission for the re-sited surgery has now been granted, with planning officers stating that “the proposed Primary Care Centre would provide a facility of overriding benefit to Westbury town as well as the wider community.”
£140,000 hold-up
The hold up has cost the project around £140,000 due to additional professional fees such as those for architects, planning consultants and solicitors, as well as increased construction and material costs and interest costs on the loan for the project. The practice is now eager to get to work on the site as soon as possible. With planning permission now in place, practice manager Debbie Riddiford said, “We’re absolutely delighted, of course. What happens now is that we have to tie up all the legal contracts and we will be having a pre-start on-site meeting with the contractors in the week commencing 5th September, with a view to getting on site as soon as possible after.”
On site this month
The surgery has emphasised the critical importance of getting on site this month, as many of the prices for building contracts and materials are only fixed for a limited time, while building regulations are also set to change. Debbie added, “Providing nothing else gets in our way, all things being well we should be on site in September – we’re working very hard to achieve that, and now we’ve got the major obstacle overcome. It’s been such a process, now we just want to get on with it and get it built and open!”
Westbury’s £5million Primary Care Development will combine the Eastleigh and White Horse surgeries, with a new centre at Mane Way, Leigh Park. The proposed services include eight GPs from the existing surgeries, nurses and nurse practitioners, antenatal and postnatal care, five treatment areas, a minor operations suite, a mobile diagnostics centre, an outpatient X-ray facility and a dental surgery. Construction is expected to take 48 weeks, and the Primary Care Development will open in 2012.
