Last chance to have your say on Westbury hospital plans

THE future of the Westbury Hospital site will again be discussed at a meeting to be held at the Laverton later this month, with NHS Property Services expected to submit a planning application to build houses on the site before the end of the year.

Westbury campaign group Sensible Thinking on Patients (STOP) will host the meeting on Wednesday 28th October from 7pm, and members are hoping local people will turn out to voice their final objections to the plan to build houses.

STOP founder Erica Watson said, “The planning application for housing on the Westbury Hospital site will be put in very soon and this may be the public’s last chance to have their say on how the site is used.

“We hope that all those who support our aim of trying to retain the site for health or social care use will come to the meeting and voice their concerns.

“Representatives from Wiltshire Council have been informed of the meeting and invited to attend so that they can hear the views of the community they serve.”

STOP has been rallying local residents to object to the NHS’s plans to sell the hospital site with planning permission for housing.

It was revealed at the beginning of this year that the site had been declared surplus to NHS requirements, and was intended to be sold to a housing developer.

Throughout the year there have been discussions and speculation on what could happen to the site, but no action is likely to be taken until the NHS – the owners of the site – provide an update or submit a planning application.